


Love and Mushrooms

by DoveFeatheredRaven



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Falling In Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Queer Themes, Science Fiction, Stone gets stranded on the mushroom planet with Robotnik AU, Trans Male Character, Wilderness Survival, mushroom planet au, rated G but be warned for minor swearing and blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23904778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoveFeatheredRaven/pseuds/DoveFeatheredRaven
Summary: Stone and Robotnik chase Sonic from San Francisco to Green Hills, but they end up farther from home than they could've ever imagined. Stranded on a mushroom planet with no supplies, no resources, and no hope, they must find a way to escape using only their wits. Alone together, perhaps for a very long time... it's the perfect opportunity for a man to deal with his romantic feelings for his employer, right?
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Comments: 29
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ~As if out of thin air, you emerged from the silted soil of my life~

_ “Shoot him now!” _

From his seat in the rear cockpit, Stone tapped the controls to arm the prototype’s weapons system. Red laser sights centered on the alien hostile, who crouched on the street in front of the aircraft, glowing with a strange electric energy. The little creature packed enough power to fry every electrical circuit in the Pacific Northwest; that much energy, like a bolt of lightning, could kill a person, no question about it. They didn’t stand a chance, unless they struck first. 

_ “What the hell are you waiting for? Fire!” _

Stone’s finger on the trigger, he looked into the alien’s glowing eyes. With one small movement, the alien would be nothing more than a burnt out pothole on the streets of Green Hills. He could end this, eliminate the threat. The Department of Defense had ordered him and Dr. Robotnik to track the anomaly, evaluate the level of threat to national security, and neutralize it if necessary; if he pressed the trigger now, he’d be honored by the top officials in his department, the President would shake his hand and declare a job well done, maybe even give him a medal. 

That thought more than anything brought Stone back to his senses. Anything the President approved of, Stone felt a moral compulsion to do the opposite. He couldn’t shoot the alien. No matter what happened to him, he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he pressed that button. 

“This is my power,” the alien said, raising his fists in a fighting stance, “and I’m not using it to run away anymore. I’m using it to protect my friends!” With the laser sights cutting through the aura of electric-blue energy, the alien rushed at the aircraft with astonishing speed, hitting it with his body again and again. Stone could do nothing but flinch beneath the glass of the cockpit as the aircraft was battered on all sides. The alien rammed into them with hurricane force, and the blue light intensified until it was blinding

“Guess what, Eggman! I’m not leaving Earth. You are!” 

The alien’s human accomplice ran up to the aircraft and threw a gleaming golden ring, which expanded in the air as it tore an interdimensional hole in reality, opening a portal to somewhere else in the universe. Robotnik slammed the control wheel forward and the aircraft surged ahead, but the little alien charged toward them in a brilliant blue streak. The impact brought on by his incredible velocity sent the entire craft flying backwards. Glass shattered, and the nose of the ship crumpled as it went through a window into a strange new world. 

For an instant, darkness enveloped them. They seemed to hang in an airless space, in an unbearable state of in-betweenness, then they slammed back into being. Stone felt as though he had suddenly been released from a great pressure, and he flickered on the edge of consciousness as the craft crashed around him. Broken shards of glass and scraps of metal rained down, and he threw his hands up to protect his eyes. They hit the ground and slid, and finally came to a rumbling stop. 

Dazed, Stone could do nothing for a few moments until his brain caught up with his body. His heart pounded so hard that he was out of breath, but all his limbs were intact. Nothing was broken. His forearms were cut up from the glass, but he still had all his hands and fingers. 

He unstrapped himself from his harness and crawled out of the cockpit, which lay at an angle to the ground. 

“Doctor!” he shouted, reaching for Robotnik who was still trapped in the front seat. “Are you okay?” 

Robotnik growled wordlessly as he climbed out. He took a moment to breathe, before fixing his eyes on Stone with a death-like glare. Stone didn’t have time to react. Grabbing him by the lapels, Robotnik shoved him against the broken hull of the aircraft.

“Why didn’t you shoot him, you useless sack of rocks?” he hissed, mere inches from Stone’s face. “I tried to make your job as simple as possible - follow my orders blindly, and you failed even that! I ALMOST HAD HIM!” 

Stone squirmed, trying to get away, but the doctor’s grip was iron-fast. 

“I told the Army engineers that they didn’t need two pilots, but no, they  _ insisted _ on using their schematics. I said a copilot would only slow me down, and you just proved me right! Why didn’t they design the prototype themselves, huh?” He shook Stone roughly by the shoulders when it looked like his attention was flagging. “I told you to shoot!”

“Let go of me,” Stone snapped. 

“Look around you! Where the hell are we, Stone? If you had fired when I said-”

“Would you have been able to shoot him? He’s just a kid!” 

“Yes, I would have shot the little blue pest!” Robotnik said through gritted teeth. His eyes darted to the side.

To his surprise, Stone realized he was lying. Robotnik seemed to realize it too, and he backed off, letting go of Stone’s shirt. He took several steps away and ran his fingers through his hair. 

“You couldn’t hurt him any more than I could.” Stone looked at the doctor in a new light. He could be vicious at times, and he talked a big game, but when it came right down to it, he couldn’t shoot someone at point blank range, even when the US government had ordered him to. 

“Whatever. Sentiment!” Robotnik spat the word like a curse. “Look where it’s got us.” 

Stone finally took in his surroundings. They were standing on the surface of a planet, the likes of which he had never seen before. The sky above was tarnished yellow in the light of a glowing sunrise, and long wisps of clouds streaked the horizon. Around them on all sides, the landscape rolled away in gentle hills, which were brown and studded with strange formations. As he looked closer, he realized they were mushrooms. Mushrooms of every size grew on this planet, ranging in size from a few inches to a few feet. Most of them had whitish stems and flat brown caps, though here and there grew clusters in shades of peach, caramel, and even yellow. 

Stone walked in a circle around the aircraft. The ground was springy, like the turf of a racetrack, and was formed from odd, rounded bumps. He bent down to touch the soil, and realized he was actually standing on a mushroom cap. It must be the biggest mushroom he’d ever seen in his life. The cap was nearly flat, but with a slightly convex center, and spanned a diameter of at least six feet. Other mushroom caps were packed so closely together that it appeared to make a solid surface, but when he walked farther away to explore, he could see places where gaps were formed between adjacent caps. It was a canopy of mushrooms. 

Behind him, Robotnik had gotten back into the cockpit, muttering curses as he tried to start the aircraft up again. Stone walked back over. 

“Can I help, sir?”

“You’ve done enough,” came the sharp reply. The control panel flickered, but didn’t turn on. He tried to activate the electricity from the alien’s quill, which lit up blue, but there was no response from the engines. Robotnik hopped out and went to look at the lift fans, which were dull and lifeless. He ran his hands over the engines, opening the access hatches and examining internal components. He scowled. 

“This thing needs major repairs before it’ll fly again.”

“Can you fix it?” Stone asked. 

Robotnik gave him a withering glance. “Of course I can  _ fix it _ , I just need my wrenches, a breaker bar, and a welding torch. And a micrometer. And my valvespring compressor, and the harmonic dampener puller…” 

“Do you have all that with you?” Stone was getting worried. 

Robotnik didn’t answer, and a lead weight settled in Stone’s gut. 

“There must be something you can do. Right? Sir?”

Seeming to deflate, Robotnik put his hand on the broken engine and closed his eyes. “What’s the use? We’re not in Kansas anymore, Agent. Even if it worked, it’s not built for space travel. Even if it was a spaceship... I don’t know where in the universe we are.”

Stone looked up at the sky, where the golden light of morning suddenly looked cold and inhospitable. He felt very small. The full extent of their predicament sunk in - stranded on an alien planet with no supplies and no means of escape. 

At least the air was breathable.

Springing into action rather than let the weight of hopelessness crush him, Stone got back into the aircraft and searched for anything usable for survival. They could potentially use the broken shards of glass and metal as tools, perhaps knives, or hooks with which to fashion traps. Even though the glass over the cockpit was shattered, they could still sleep inside it and be relatively sheltered. Though, there were plenty of medium-height mushrooms around. It might be more comfortable to sleep under one of those. 

In the very back of the cockpit was a pack hooked securely to the floor. He unclipped it and hauled it over to Robotnik, who was sitting cross-legged on a mushroom. 

“My go-bag! Good. Maybe I can use-” He took out a length of cord, frowned, and dropped it. “I wonder if I still have-” More wrapped cords fell to the ground, along with a flashlight with no batteries, a whistle, a pocket knife, an N95 mask, a single wrench, a can opener, a map, a crossword puzzle (filled in), a first aid kit, one MRE, and some other miscellaneous equipment. 

“Knew I should have brought my toolbox instead,” he growled. He shoved everything into the pack again, but not before Stone opened up the first aid kit and began to clean the cuts on his arms. There were no deep wounds, but he applied antiseptic and bandages anyway, just to keep infection at bay.

“Here, let me see.” Standing in front of Robotnik, Stone pushed his sleeves back and began treating his wounds as well. Being at the front of the craft, Robotnik had taken more force from the attack than Stone had. There were still glass shards embedded in his forearm. Stone removed them as gently as possible with tweezers, but Robotnik was still white-faced and sweating by the time Stone had finished. 

After putting the kit away, Stone thought about what to do next. He’d had survival training as part of basic, but that was years ago, and he had to admit, it wasn’t a skill he thought he’d ever need as part of his specific position within the DIA. Finding water was one of the most important things, he remembered. 

He looked around. There were mushrooms everywhere that had depressions in the center of their caps, which were filled with clear morning dew. Okay, problem one, solved. They also had shelter; either they could sleep in the aircraft or under a mushroom. 

“Do you think we can eat these?” he asked, kicking over a short white mushroom. It looked like a button mushroom back on Earth, which incidentally looked similar to a death cap mushroom, at least to Stone, who wasn’t familiar with mushrooms at all. 

“Why don’t you try it, then I’ll know which ones to avoid.”

Stone let out a puff of breath. What were they going to do? Did it really matter if they could survive on this planet, if they could never get home? He looked at Robotnik, who was typing something into his phone. 

Survival was a daunting prospect, and Stone felt unmoored now that the adrenaline of the battle was wearing off. It was quiet on the planet. There was no birdsong, only the bleak whistle of wind over the open canopy. 

Could he survive being stranded with Robotnik? The man was arrogant and mean at the best of times. The idea of spending an unspecified stretch of time, perhaps the rest of their lives, alone with him filled Stone with dread. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like the man. Quite the opposite, actually; Stone liked Robotnik more than was good for him. He certainly liked him more than he deserved. 

Part of it was plain old physical attraction. The doctor was tall and lean, and his low voice was a pleasure to listen to, even when he was snapping outrageous insults at whatever Army inspector was sent to ‘check in’ on his research on any particular day. Ever since Stone had started working for Robotnik, he had actually looked forward to staff meetings just because he liked to hear him talk. 

The problem was Robotnik liked to hear himself talk, too. Stone never enjoyed being rude, but sometimes he had to interrupt the doctor’s train of thought or he’d go on endless tangents. 

However, the other part of it was Stone genuinely admired Robotnik. He was intelligent, and when he was in a good mood, he could be downright witty. His clever asides always made Stone laugh, especially when they were directed at someone they both disliked. Stone considered him a friend, though he wasn’t sure that Robotnik would say the same.

Stone leaned against the aircraft and rubbed his forehead. Alone together, possibly for the rest of their lives. No, that couldn’t be true, they had to get home somehow. 

Where was home from here? They might not even be in the same galaxy as Earth. It didn’t matter anyway; they had no way to escape. Their wings were clipped.

Stuck.

Forever.

Stone sat down with his head in his hands, breathing faintly through a rising tide of nausea. Mere days ago, he’d been sent on a mission to investigate a rogue electromagnetic pulse that had briefly shorted power grids in Montana and the surrounding region. It should have been routine, if there was ever anything routine about the collection and analysis of military-related intelligence. Robotnik had been ecstatic when they’d gotten the call; his prototype was nearly complete and ready to be tested in action. Now, the very same prototype lay in smouldering pieces, with a bed of fungus for a grave. 

If only they had known. 

“Hey, Stone,” Robotnik said, his gruff voice uncharacteristically soft. “Do you want to see something cool?” 

Going over to his side, Stone stood at ease with his hands folded behind his back. 

Robotnik had plugged his command glove into his phone, which was running an app of his own design. Except for the basic functions of a phone, Robotnik had installed only his own software. He often lectured Stone on the fallibility of consumer electronics, which were built for idiots from the bronze age who couldn’t tell a motherboard from a microprocessor.  _ Why make it easy for the FBI to spy on me? _ he would say, no matter how many times Stone told that the FBI did not, in fact, waste its time spying on every smartphone-owner in the United States. That was the NSA’s job.

After cannibalizing pieces from the most popular smartphone brands, Robotnik had come up with a pocket-sized computer that was compatible with some of his drone tech. Only, now he was using it to do something to a mushroom. 

Tearing the cap of a small white mushroom in half, he set it down and scanned it with his glove. The data appeared on his phone screen, and Robotnik ran an analysis. Chemical constituents of the mushroom appeared on screen, listed in descending order of percent by mass. Eventually, a results page popped up, which read: “DNA profile inconclusive. 81% chemical match:  _ Agaricus bisporus  _ (button mushroom). Edible. Nutritional profile: Carbohydrates...” Robotnik clicked off the phone before Stone could finish reading. 

“Well, we won’t have to worry about food,” Robotnik commented, looking around at the endless fields of identical mushrooms. “Shall we?” He gave half to Stone and they ate the mushroom. It had a mildly sweet, earthy flavor, but it was nothing to write home about. 

With all their bases covered, food, water, and shelter, they could potentially survive here for a long time. Would a lifetime be long enough to build a spaceship from the wreckage of a prototype fighter aircraft? There had to be natural resources on this planet, metals they could forge into something like salvation. They had plenty of time to explore. 

Robotnik was striding over to examine another mushroom when he stepped too close to the edge of the cap. It bent down under his weight and he fell, scrambling backwards to avoid falling through the gap. In a flash, Stone was at his side, but he wasn’t quick enough to grab the phone and the command glove, which slipped over the edge of the mushroom into darkness. 

Carefully, Robotnik crawled on hands and knees to the edge and peered down. When he clambered back to the center of the mushroom, his face was ashen. 

“Doctor?” Stone asked, touching him on the shoulder.

“I hope you’re not afraid of heights, Stone. We’re about fifty feet off the ground.” 

Stone swallowed past a lump in his throat. Maybe survival wouldn’t be so easy after all. The canopy looked solid enough, but it was a treacherous facade hiding deadly chasms and a lethal drop. 

Grabbing his hand, Stone helped Robotnik back to his feet. They looked at each other, and Stone saw only his own uncertainty reflected in the doctor’s gaze.

So many doubts, so many questions swam in Stone’s mind, but there were no answers within easy reach. Stone was hit with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that Robotnik was with him, that he wasn’t alone in this empty wilderness, though perhaps it was a selfish way to feel. Robotnik was a technological genius and Stone was resourceful, with years of defense intelligence training in his repertoire of useful skills. Between the two of them, there had to be some hope of escape. 

The morning sun had finally cleared the horizon in the eastern sky. Day one of their isolation had begun. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Like an apparition hovering over the remains of what once was~

The sun sunk low on the horizon, casting long shadows over the surface of the fungal canopy. To the east, the sky was awash in the reds and pinks of an alien sunset, while to the west, it darkened to a celestial blue with the first hints of stars appearing opposite the setting sun. Stone might have thought it a beautiful time of day, if they weren’t stranded on an uninhabited planet, and if everything didn’t smell like damp mushroom.

Stone watched as Robotnik rigged up a hot plate using Sonic’s quill, thick copper wires he had scavenged from the wreckage of his aircraft, and a broken slab of metal that served as the heating surface. He connected the alligator clips to either side of the plate and waited. The immense current provided by the quill would quickly cause the circuit to heat up, and then they could boil water in a pot made from more scrap metal. 

Almost two full weeks had passed since they first arrived on this godforsaken mushroom planet, and Robotnik had already burned through several feet of copper wire before finding one of the proper thickness to utilize the quill’s electric potential without either burning the wire or burning a hole through the mushroom surface. They didn’t exactly have the components for a nice insulated circuit. But, Robotnik’s macgyvered contraptions always served their purpose. 

The water boiled, and Stone watched the bubbles rise to the surface. It was almost like sitting around a campfire. He wished there were marshmallows to roast instead of mushrooms. 

Robotnik disconnected the circuit, careful only to touch the insulated portion of the clip, and they sat in silence while the water cooled to a safe temperature for drinking. Most evenings were like this now. They spent every second with each other, sleeping and waking, so there wasn’t much to talk about. Even Robotnik, who was exceedingly chatty and frequently prone to monologuing, had nothing to say at the moment. When the most interesting thing that had happened to them that day had been discovering a new variety of mushroom, well, conversation fell by the wayside. 

The passage of time was becoming one big endless blur. Stone spent most of each day bored and exhausted and each night unable to sleep, feeling more lonely than he ever had before. 

“It’s interesting that we haven’t gotten sick yet,” Stone contemplated, taking a drink of the warm-ish water. His voice sounded too loud in the quiet of the evening, but the pressure of the silence was getting to him. For several moments, Robotnik didn’t answer, and Stone wondered if he had even spoken aloud at all. 

“It’s a biological anomaly, actually. Our immune systems should have no possible way of defending against alien pathogens, and yet, here we are.” 

“Maybe alien pathogens can’t defend against our immune systems,” Stone offered. Robotnik gave him a dry look. 

“Doubtful. Just think about the risk of disease transmission between countries back on Earth, especially in areas that don’t have access to clean drinking water. The amount of disease-causing microbes present in a single teaspoon of water is astounding. But it’s not really the water we have to worry about, as long as we boil it, and assuming that the common microbes on this planet are killed at high temperatures - it’s the ones covering every surface we touch and everything we eat.” He regarded a nearby mushroom with distaste, as if he could see the teeming millions of microscopic organisms existing on top of it. 

“What’s your theory, then?” Stone asked. “Don’t tell me it’s just a matter of time before we die of alien dysentery or something.” 

“My  _ hypothesis _ -” Robotnik corrected, “-is that traveling by ring grants some form of immunity. Otherwise, I don’t know how an intergalactic society could survive. There has to be effective sterilization procedures or they’d all just die of each other’s diseases.” 

It was a fascinating topic to consider. Stone didn’t have any expertise in the field of epidemiology, but he had seen  _ War of the Worlds _ . 

Besides, whenever he travelled back home to Lebanon to visit family, he had to make sure he was up to date on his vaccines. Did ring travel really grant immunity? If Robotnik was right - he usually was - and they weren’t in danger of imminent death by disease, maybe they had a chance of making it home someday. 

“I didn’t know you were interested in public health,” Stone said.

Robotnik twirled Sonic’s quill between his fingers, looking like he was weighing something internally. “I’m really not. But I used to date an epidemiologist from the CDC. Guess some of that rubbed off on me.”

“Really?” Stone sat up straight, feelings of ennui gone like wisps of fog in the morning sunlight. The doctor  _ never _ talked about his romantic life; in the years Stone had worked for him, this was the first time he’d mentioned it. Stone had to resist the urge to pester him with a million questions, though they burned on his tongue as if this was the best slumber party he’d ever been to and the popular kid just dropped some hot gossip. No, this was the legendary Dr. Robotnik they were talking about, the man who was both respected and feared by the US government, and  _ damn it _ , now Stone wanted to know what his perfect date would look like. 

Instead, he simply settled for a neutral expression and a “tell me more.” 

Robotnik raised an eyebrow, and Stone wondered, not for the first time, if the doctor could see right through his expressionless government-assigned facade. 

“There’s not much to tell, really.”

Several thoughts ran through Stone’s mind at once.  _ When was this? How’d you meet? Was it serious? Was I working for you at the time? ...Are you single now?  _ He decided to let Robotnik continue in his own time. 

“We met at the Pentagon while we were both waiting in line for coffee.” Robotnik took a leisurely sip of water and Stone wanted to hear more so badly he thought a vein might burst in his head. “We had the same coffee order.” 

As if that explained the whole story. Stone nodded. “Do go on.” 

“It didn’t last very long. We went on a couple more dates, toured the CDC’s headquarters in DC. I got to put on a hazmat suit.”

“Wow, what a thrill.”

Robotnik rolled his eyes, but Stone could see he was smiling.

“Why’d you break up, then?” Stone pressed.

“Epidemiology is incredibly boring actually, it’s mostly data analysis. I don’t know why anyone would choose that job. But then again, he was about as boring as a brick wall so it kind of suited him.”

Stone blinked. There was that moment, that jolt of recognition of a gay person who realized he was talking to another gay person. Stone felt that he might vibrate out of his skin, though he fought to keep himself under control. He grinned.  _ It kind of suited him…  _ That pronoun was like music. 

Inside, he was screaming silently _.  _ He wanted to seem cool and composed in front of his boss, but he also wanted him to know that he, Aban Lee Stone, was a fellow gay man, but he didn’t want it to seem like he was just saying it because he’d said it and he also didn’t want to it seem like a come on but at the same time he also kind of did… 

_ Just play it smooth _ . “So you’re gay? That’s neat,” he said in a voice that was several notes higher than his normal speaking voice.  _...Not like that.  _ Stone briefly considered hurling himself over the edge of the mushroom, but then he realized Robotnik was laughing, not glaring. 

“Yeah. I’m not interested in bringing my personal life to work at the best of times, but it’s not easy to be queer and work for the federal government. So, I don’t talk about it much. But-” Stone suddenly found himself caught under Robotnik’s piercing stare, “-I don’t have to tell you that, do I?” 

With a sigh of relief, Stone released the tension in his shoulders. Robotnik already knew. Of course he did. “Back when I was in training I had this homophobic instructor, a guy who started off as a Marine Corps drill instructor and wanted everyone to know it. I’m pretty sure he found out somehow that I was gay because… Jesus, the slurs never ended. He ran me harder than anyone else in my unit, like he was constantly testing me for signs of weakness. He was racist, too, just a real gem of a guy all around. My name was Agent Faggot for a solid six months.”

“I’m sorry, Stone.” 

Stone looked at the doctor in surprise. He rarely said sorry for anything, but in this case, Stone felt the warmth of kinship flow between them. “I just thought it might get easier after they repealed 'don't ask, don’t tell.’”

“Nobody thought it would get easier,” Robotnik countered. His tone was dismissive but his eyes still glimmered with a sympathetic light. “I learned that you just have to terrify everyone who might want to take you down, and then you’ll be fine.” 

Stone remembered many of the interactions he’d witnessed between the doctor and other high ranking military and intelligence officials. Robotnik usually began by methodically insulting their intelligence and establishing himself as the most dominant dog in the junkyard, and for the most part, people were either too flabbergasted or embarrassed to protest. It helped that Robotnik was genuinely smarter than most people. Doors opened for him, often due to the fact that others were so busy scurrying out of his way that they didn’t bother to make sure the doors were locked behind them.

Privately, Stone thought a lot of Robotnik’s ‘I do what I want’ mentality was enabled because he was technically employed as a private contractor to the federal government, which gave him some leeway within the strict Department of Defense chain of command. If Stone ever spoke to a commissioned officer the way Robotnik spoke to most people, he’d be kicked back so hard, he’d be watering the trees around the Pentagon in the rain. 

Maybe that’s why he liked Robotnik so much; through him, Stone could live out his wildest fantasies of calling his superior a bitch. 

“I don’t know if you know this about me,” Robotnik began in a voice that was curiously light. He paused a moment. “But I’m transgender.” 

Stone glanced at him in surprise. “No, I didn’t know. Thanks for telling me.” Apparently it was a night for revelations, and Stone felt a little overwhelmed. What had he done to earn the doctor’s trust all of a sudden? Whatever it was, he was immeasurably glad. 

“Yeah, well, listen. The reason I said it is we’re probably going to be alone together for the foreseeable future, and I don’t want you asking stupid questions.” He had regained his normal prickly air, and the familiar gruff tone made Stone smile. 

“Was it hard, growing up?”

Robotnik scowled, clearly indicating that he considered that to be a stupid question. 

Feeling like he was spinning a web of awkwardness, Stone decided to just stop talking before he really put his foot in it.

“So you want to know all the details of my tragic childhood, huh? Well, it was tragic, but not because I’m trans. My parents died when I was a baby, so my grandfather raised me for a while. He really wasn’t fit to be raising a kid, though. Oh, he wasn’t a bad guy,” he said in response to Stone’s curious expression. “Just irresponsible. He was a biomedical scientist, always more interested in his research than what I was doing.”

“Sounds familiar,” Stone teased. 

Robotnik laughed slightly. “I guess it runs in the family. My aunt and uncle raised me, and they were supportive when I came out. But my biggest ally was my cousin, Maria. She… she was the best of us.” 

He looked down at the ground, lost in memories, and Stone wished there was something he could do to share the burden of his grief. Loss was not easily shouldered alone, but Robotnik brought himself back to the present before Stone could reach out.

“I always go to visit them on holidays.” 

“Really?” 

“There aren’t many people on Earth who I consider worth the oxygen they consume,” Robotnik growled. “But they’re worth it.” He met Stone’s eyes with a sharp glance, and for a moment looked like he was about to say something more. Then he frowned and turned away.

There were so many things Stone didn’t know about Robotnik. It was easy to imagine that he spent all his spare time in the lab, but he was only human, and had a life that he kept completely separate from work. What was Robotnik like when he was at home with his family? What were his passions outside of robotics? Stone hoped that someday, he could be part of the doctor’s life as more than just the security officer assigned to his top-secret lab. His heart longed for so much more.

“Go to sleep, Stone,” Robotnik said, glowering in his general direction. He replaced the scrap metal and circuit components in his pack before breaking the cap off a dinner-plate sized mushroom and setting it down as a pillow. “It’s going to be another long day tomorrow.” 

Stone tried to settle his racing thoughts, but for once on this empty planet, he had a lot to think about. The information Robotnik had shared had been deeply personal, and Stone hoped that meant some of the admiration and trust he felt was reciprocated. But, Robotnik’s moods were hard to read and often seemed to change with the wind. In the interest of protecting his own heart, Stone decided he wouldn’t get his hopes up too quickly. And yet, if he dreamed of a romance with his handsome boss, that wasn’t a sin, was it? He couldn’t help loving Robotnik. 

He stretched out on his back and looked up at the night sky, clearing his mind of idle rumination. Thousands of stars were visible in that vast dark canvas, more than he’d ever been able to see on Earth. It was a beautiful mosaic of light and void, and now that Stone knew there were alien worlds out there, the stars seemed to whisper promises of adventure and secrets to be learned. But none of the constellations were familiar. 

Stone listened to the doctor breathe in the quiet of the night, until eventually they both fell asleep. 

They rose at the first light of dawn, before the sun had even burned off the thin layer of frost that coated the mushroom canopy. Every night brought colder weather, and Stone worried what they would do when winter set in. Hopefully they would be home before then, but if not, they were wholly unprepared for survival in subzero temperatures. As Robotnik cut up mushrooms for their breakfast, Stone noticed how stiff his movements were, and how his fingers were white where he gripped the knife. 

He couldn’t help worrying. The doctor had no clothing other than his flight suit, which was designed to keep him cool as the interior of his aircraft rose to near-intolerable temperatures from the heat of the engine. It was a bug Robotnik hadn’t quite worked out yet, so the flight suit had been designed to compensate. But now on this fungal planet, with the temperatures dropping, it wasn’t enough to keep him warm. Stone hardly fared better himself; his linen shirt did nothing to cut the wind, though his wool suit jacket kept him warm enough at night. The only problem was his outfit wasn’t designed for hiking in the outdoors. The wool retained moisture for days. 

Robotnik gave Stone a handful of chopped mushrooms before downing his portion as quickly as possible. Stone followed suit, nearly gagging. The novelty of a new food had worn off long ago, and now it only tasted like dirt. If he never ate another mushroom again, it would be too soon.

They set off in a northeasterly direction, navigating by Robotnik’s compass and the direction of the rising sun. Their plan was to walk in ever-wider concentric circles around the crash site, looking for anything that might help them rebuild, but in the weeks they had spent on this planet, all they had found was mushrooms. Bird-like creatures flew by overhead, and Stone watched them with no small measure of envy. How lucky they were to be able to traverse the landscape with such ease. They didn’t have to hike over the uneven canopy, worrying if every step might send them plummeting over the edge. 

Robotnik paused to make a note in his field journal, and Stone took the opportunity to peer over the edge of the mushroom he was standing on. The forest floor was shrouded in darkness, about two stories down. Mushroom stalks extended from the dirt, topped by the great broad caps they walked across, and here and there, the thick white filaments of mycelium were visible where they emerged from underground. What else was down there? 

“What are you looking at, Stone?” Robotnik called from where he stood several mushrooms away. 

Stone hurried to his side. “Forest floor. I was wondering if it’s better down there than it is up here.” 

“Could be. I was thinking that myself, actually. If there’s any raw ore on this planet, it would most likely be found in caves on the surface rather than up in the canopy. But I haven’t the slightest idea how to get down.” 

The mushroom caps all grew to nearly the same height, though they followed the curvature of the land, which posed two problems at once. First, it was difficult terrain to maneuver. Clambering over the soft bodies of mushrooms was fraught with danger; the surfaces were rubbery and swayed if they stood too near the edge. But at the same time, the caps were packed together so tightly and grew to the same height, so there was no way down to the forest floor other than a steep drop.

“You don’t think we could climb down, then?” Stone asked.

“Even if we had proper climbing gear, I doubt it. The stalks are so soft, any hooks we used would just rip out under our weight.” 

They kept walking. For hours, they walked, until the sun was at its highest point, and Stone’s brow dripped with sweat. Half the day was already gone and they had seen absolutely nothing, just more mushrooms and useless birds that didn’t even come close enough to catch. Stone would give almost anything to be able to cool off in the shade of a leafy tree, but plants were in short supply on this planet. For now, he settled for tossing his jacket on the ground and unbuttoning his shirt, taking advantage of the stale breeze. Robotnik sat on a mushroom and rubbed his forehead. 

This world was so quiet, save for the buzzing of insects. There were no leaves for the wind to rustle. Overhead, dark clouds were building on the horizon, blowing in from the east, and Stone felt crushed under the weight of the oppressive air. It was that time of autumn when the weather was hot and humid during the day and freezing at night. He didn’t know which he preferred, only that he was so sick of this lousy planet, he’d give his left arm just to go home. 

“Do you really think we’ll find anything?” Stone asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I don’t know, Stone.” Robotnik’s voice was a bitter growl. “Aren’t you having fun on this little jaunt of ours? Is our progress too slow for you? Am I doing a poor job of keeping you entertained?” 

“That’s not what I asked.” 

“Well, what do you want me to say? You know everything I know. We have a broken ship that was designed for flight, not space travel. We have a shit-load of mushrooms and not much else. We’re alone on this planet and you piss me off more every day. Is that what you wanted to hear? Should I keep going?”

“No. Stop biting my head off, I haven’t done anything to you.” Stone pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d never wanted to punch his boss more than right now, and he had been sorely tempted in the past. Robotnik’s response to most frustrations was to act like an asshole. Even though Stone already knew this about him, it wasn’t something he ever really got used to.  
“Well, if you weren’t completely useless, maybe we’d have gotten somewhere by now.” 

Choking back a flood of anger, Stone counted to ten before he did something he’d regret. They were under a lot of stress, and Robotnik was lashing out. Nothing new there, then. And to think, yesterday he’d thought maybe they were becoming friends. 

“Let’s keep walking. At least when you’re out of breath, you’re not being mean,” Stone added quietly. 

“What did you say?” Robotnik demanded, jumping to his feet and marching after Stone. 

“Forget it.” 

Once again, they hiked over the canopy. Robotnik lagged several yards behind, and Stone found that he didn’t mind, as long as he didn’t have to look at the doctor’s face anymore. He was annoyed.

He heard Robotnik kicking over small mushrooms as they passed, the fleshy sound of the mushroom ripping from the mycelium repeated every few feet, making the hair on the back of Stone’s neck stand up. It sounded like skin. 

Stone hurried ahead, hauling his way up a steep hill. The mushrooms were arranged in a gradually ascending order, like a staircase, and for the most part he could easily step up from one to another. Maybe a lofty overlook would show them something useful they had missed in the lower valleys of the canopy. As they climbed, the clouds overhead continued to roll in, and soon the sky was a dark gray canvas. The air felt heavy with rain, though not a single drop had fallen yet. 

At the top of the rise, Stone and Robotnik paused to catch their breath. This was the highest they had been since they crashed and they could see far across the landscape in every direction. The view would have been awe-inspiring, Stone thought grimly, if there had been anything to see. As it was, rolling hills of mushrooms stretched out from their little plateau, valleys of mushrooms which eventually turned into cliffs of mushrooms. Forests and meadows, all made of damp, stinking mushrooms. Facing southwest, Robotnik pointed out the rubble of his aircraft. Miles back and a few hundred feet below them, the broken white pieces stood out against the broad field of brown and gray. 

Finally, as if the sky were releasing a breath held for too long, it began to rain. Softly at first, the fine mist deepened into a steady downpour, and Stone’s clothing was soaked within minutes. Cold water dripped down his spine. He sighed, and wondered if it was possible to feel more miserable. 

“Hey, can you see that?” 

Stone looked where the doctor was indicating, straight north of their current position. He couldn’t tell what he was looking at. There was another peak a couple miles ahead, with perhaps a darker patch at the highest point. “What is it?” 

“I think it’s trees.” 

“Are you serious?” Stone squinted, trying to get a better look through the rain. He couldn’t see much, but the shapes were familiar. Straight trunks led up to spreading branches - or maybe it was just another mushroom grove. 

“I saw it just before the rain started. It looked green.” 

Green. What a concept. Stone hadn’t seen very much green lately; the fungi were mostly dirt colors. Unfortunately, the rain sapped the color from the world, making everything look shadowy and gray. 

“Let’s go as soon as the rain lets up,” Stone said. He sat down under a mushroom, not that it did much good when he was already wet, but at least he was out of the rain. Robotnik settled down next to him, glancing warily upward at the gills on the underside of the mushroom cap. Several days ago, Robotnik had warned Stone to stop sleeping under the mushrooms in case they dropped hallucinogenic spores, but Stone had said he was full of bullshit and the conversation had ended there. Apparently rain was now a bigger concern than spores, because Robotnik folded himself as tightly as possible underneath the cap. 

Stone couldn’t help smiling. In his own aggravating way, Robotnik was kind of cute. 

Minutes bled into hours, and Stone drifted off into an uneasy sleep. The rain was unrelenting, and once again, the cold was starting to get to him. It couldn’t be good for his health to cycle between chilled and overheated multiple times a day, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Pulling his jacket closed, he dreamed of warm spring evenings on the edge of the Potomac, the sweet smell of cherry blossoms in the air, and someone special standing at his side. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed before Robotnik was shaking him awake. The cold wet reality of the mushroom planet made his dream seem like a cruel joke, and he promised himself that he would kiss the very ground if he ever made it back to Earth. 

“Time to go, Stone.”

For what it was worth, the rain had eased up, and now fell in a gentle drizzle. Walking would do them good, Stone supposed, to get the blood flowing and warm up a bit. They picked their way down the plateau in the direction of the area Robotnik had noticed. If there were trees, maybe there was fruit, and they could eat something besides mushrooms. 

The north slope of the peak was steeper than the side they had come up, and there were several steps where the next mushroom was a short drop below the higher one. It was dangerous work, descending this terrain. Surfaces slick from the rain, each mushroom was a trip hazard and Stone did his best to stay in the absolute centers, as far as possible from the treacherous edges. His shoes weren’t made for hiking, either; they were expensive and designed more for meetings and formal dinners, but Stone was steady on his feet and managed to keep up a fair pace for several hours. 

All was well, until they reached the lowest point of the valley.

They were about halfway to where they wanted to be, and the sky behind the clouds had darkened significantly. It must be nearly nighttime, though the sun hadn’t been visible since yesterday. In any case, between the rain and the clouds it was too dark to see, so they began to make camp. Stone ranged out in a circle, picking mushrooms for dinner, and he was just about to head back to Robotnik when the ground shifted under his feet and he crashed to his side.

“Help!” he cried. The mushroom he had stepped on was rotten and the cap began to tear, sending him sliding toward the edge. Digging his hands in, he came up with fistfuls of decaying matter and nothing solid to hold onto. 

In seconds, Robotnik was on his feet and he jumped onto the mushroom nearest to Stone. “Hold on! I can’t reach you!” 

With a lurch, the hyphal stalk began to sway under Stone’s weight, and he slid closer to the edge. Every movement threatened to rip apart the surface, but if he stayed still, the entire structure might collapse anyway. Putrid liquid squished up through the cap, soaking Stone’s shirt. It was slippery, and he panted with the effort of holding on. 

Robotnik tensed as if he was about to jump, but Stone shouted frantically, “No! You can’t step here, it’s falling apart.”

“Just hold on!”

Stone lost sight of Robotnik as he circled around behind, but he could hear his footsteps. There wasn’t another mushroom within reach, and Stone was sliding ever closer to the deadly drop. It was like clinging onto a mudslide, the mushroom surface was liquifying and there was nothing Stone could do to save himself. His feet were hanging over empty air, and he made the mistake of looking down, only to see darkness. He didn’t know how far down the forest floor was here. He might break both his legs, if he didn’t die on impact. 

“Stone, listen. You have to move closer to the edge.” Robotnik’s voice came from directly behind. Stone didn’t dare turn to look in case the motion sent him falling into the abyss.

“What? No! Do you want me to die?”

“The stalk is falling over. If you shift your weight backwards, it might lean close enough so I can grab you.” 

“It might!?” 

“It will. You have to move, or you’ll fall straight through!”

“No, I can’t move, I can’t hold on.” Panic was starting to overtake his logic. If he stayed put, he would certainly fall when the rotten cap finally collapsed. 

“Do what I say!” Robotnik commanded, his voice ringing out clearly in the damp night. 

That finally flipped a switch in Stone’s head; he was trained to follow commands, he was trained to think clearly under pressure, and at the sound of his boss’s order he snapped back into action. Loosening his grip, he allowed himself to slide back several feet until his lower body hung over the edge, and the stalk began to bend. He moved slowly through the air and his stomach lurched as the fruiting body gave way to rot and he began to fall, only to be saved when Robotnik grabbed him under the shoulders and hauled him onto the surface of a solid mushroom. 

Collapsing to his knees, Robotnik dug his fingers into Stone’s clothing. Stone leaned into him, shaking. The doctor’s arms offered more comfort than the fungal surface, which Stone half expected to decay under them at any moment.

In front of them, the mushroom he’d been clinging to just moments before continued to collapse, as if it were deflating. The stem bent and finally caved, sending the entire structure crashing to the forest floor. There was a dull, wet thud as the gigantic fungus returned to the dirt it had sprouted from. Stone could do nothing but look at the dark gap in the canopy. His insides turned over and he thought he might vomit.

“Thank you,” he whispered. He felt more than saw Robotnik shake his head, and then he was being pulled unceremoniously to his feet and shoved in a direction opposite the collapsed mushroom. 

He followed Robotnik to a thicker portion of the canopy. Even though his legs felt like jelly, he walked after his companion until he seemed satisfied with the solidity of the ground. They made camp, again, in utter silence. Neither of them felt like eating after that gut-wrenching ordeal, so they settled down and attempted to sleep. The rain was finally slowing down, and Stone turned his face up to the sky to rinse the sweat off his brow. 

“Sir?” he said in a voice as soft and uncertain as the rainfall.

“I don’t want to talk.” 

Stone tried to keep his mouth shut, but his heart was pounding and he needed to hear another person speak to remind himself that he was still alive. He was sure he would crash in an hour or so, after his hormone spike subsided. “You saved my life.” 

Sighing deeply, Robotnik turned so he was facing away, out into the cold night. “I wish you weren’t here, Stone.” 

Even after the adrenaline rush wore off, Stone did not sleep that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robotnik is trans for three reasons. One, why not? Two, I'm projecting my own gender issues. My gender is a question I've been struggling with for a while, but y'all didn't come here for my personal stuff, right? Three, we need better LGBT+ representation in Hollywood, dang it! I'm sick of movies/books that have 'queer characters' but we only know they're queer because the directors/producers/writers mentioned it once on twitter. We need all kinds of LGBT+ rep - stories where queer issues are a main plot point, as well as stories where the characters just happen to be queer while going about their business. If mainstream film and publishing industries aren't going to give the complex, diverse representation we want, I'm just going to write it myself!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I didn’t ask for you~
> 
> Content warning for blood mention.

Sometime around moon high, the rain clouds began to dissipate and strips of sky became visible behind the flat gray. This planet had two moons, which revolved at right angles to each other. When the first moon reached its highest point, the second was just beginning to appear on the horizon, and the night sky was bright. Clouds whisked past the moons, casting shadows across the landscape that shifted like something out of a dream world. Stone sat upright with his chin propped up in his hand, watching moonlight glint off puddles. 

They had been on this planet for - how long? Half a month? But it hadn’t really felt dangerous until now. Nowhere had they detected signs of predators, there was enough to eat (mushrooms) and drink (puddle water), and for the most part the canopy was dense enough that they hadn’t worried about falling through. But after his near-death experience, Stone felt sick with the very real possibility that the next step could be fatal. 

He picked at his nails, wound up with frustrations that he couldn’t even begin to name. Did Robotnik not want him around? Did he think he’d be better off alone? Well, screw him. Stone didn’t want to be here either, but he wasn’t constantly complaining about it. Out loud, anyway. 

It was useless to think about. He summoned all his intelligence training and the years of experience he had in the field, shoved his emotions to the back of his mind, and forced himself to sleep. 

He woke up late in the day. The moons were down and the sun was nearing its zenith, and Robotnik was sitting nearby boiling water. In the daylight, the canopy looked less full of danger than it had last night. Maybe it had been foolish to traipse around in the dark and the rain, but they wouldn’t make that mistake twice. 

Stone peeled off his wet jacket and shirt and wrung them out, watching the water run off the side of the mushroom. His skin was covered in slime from the rotten mushroom and it was beginning to itch, so he knelt by a puddle and washed himself. 

“How soon do you want to leave?” he asked Robotnik, thinking that if they rested during the hottest part of the day, maybe they could dry their clothes.

“Soon as this water’s done. I was right, there are plants up there.”

Stone looked up the hill where a green haze lay at the top like a crown over the mushrooms. He estimated ten miles up a fairly gentle slope. Despite the late start, they could still make it by evening. They drank the water after it had cooled, and refilled their one water bottle which Robotnik kept in his pack, and then prepared for another day of hiking. Stone struggled into his wet shirt, fighting with the buttons. The back of his neck prickled, though when he glanced at Robotnik, he was staring very intently at something on the ground. 

As they walked, they took turns carrying Robotnik’s pack, heavy with supplies, spare parts, and the MRE, which Robotnik had ordered him not to touch on pain of death. Though, after eating nothing but mushrooms for so long, Stone was beginning to think death would be a fair price to pay for an MRE. 

“No,” Robotnik said, glancing sideways at Stone.

“What?” There was no way… the doctor wasn’t actually reading his mind, was he?

“Whatever you’re thinking, just no.” 

“How do you know I was thinking anything?”

“Your face gets this certain expression when you’re having a thought. It’s unseemly, really. You should try to have your thoughts in private.”

Stone scoffed at the sheer ridiculousness of that statement. Somehow, Robotnik always found a way to make the most simple of tasks - walking from point A to point B - into an aggravating experience. 

“You know, I bet if you were alone with a rock, you’d find some way to insult it,” Stone retorted, mildly annoyed. 

Robotnik chuckled, and didn’t respond. 

Hours later, they climbed up the last stretch of hill and encountered the most beautiful sight they had seen in weeks. Densely packed mushroom caps formed a flat circular plain, perhaps two hundred feet in diameter, in which grew all manner of green plants. Low growing shrubs hugged the edges of the plain, almost like a hedgerow, though they were wild and not at all maintained. Inside the circle was a field of grasses about knee high, golden in color, stems weighed down at the end with seeds. Stone and Robotnik shared an astounded glance before wading into the rippling sea of grass, stirred gently by the wind. 

At the center of the circle was a grove of vegetation. Surrounded by the yellow grass, with thick undergrowth spilling out from between gnarled trunks, it was like an oasis hidden away in a desert of mushrooms. Trees scraped the sky in the densest portion of the copse, with leaves that ranged from pale sage to emerald to dark pine. Silvery moss draped off of every branch, giving the woods an ethereal appearance as if the trees were exhaling wisps of fog. There were flowers, too, Stone noticed, growing on the ground at the edge of the woods and high up in the branches. A sweet smell like jasmine drifted on the breeze from tiny purple flowers. He’d never been so excited to see flowers in his life. 

Stone dropped Robotnik’s pack at the edge of the woods, where the undergrowth was too thick to see inside. Small shrubs with leaves like palm fronds grew between the trunks. Stone grabbed one by the leaves and pulled it toward him, and it snapped back into place, waving like a fan. They could make something out of this, possibly baskets or blankets, not that Stone knew anything about weaving, but he was sure they could figure it out. 

The smell from the flowers was sweet and fresh and it chased away the ever present stench of the fungi. His head felt clearer than it had in a long time.

“Look, sir, there’s fruit growing on the branches.” He stood at the base of a tree, looking at a branch pointing deeper into the woods. A yellow fruit, about the size of a cherry, bloomed from a patch of moss. Taking a few steps back, Stone realized all the fruit on the outer branches had been picked off, by birds, presumably, or had fallen to the ground and rotted. The ones on the inside were difficult to reach. 

“It might be toxic,” Robotnik muttered, prompting an exasperated glance from Stone. 

“We can test it before we eat it, then.” 

Attempting to shove his way through the shrubs, Stone found that the stems were so stiff he could barely push them back. He was too short to step over them, and they didn’t make a solid enough surface to step on. The blasted fruit was just out of reach, maybe if he could grab a tendril of moss and yank it down, the fruit would come with. But it was too high up. 

“It’s hard being you, isn’t it?” Robotnik quipped, grabbing a higher branch and using it to haul himself over the barrier of vegetation. 

Stone ignored the jab and directed the doctor to a cluster of fruit halfway up a tree. As he climbed, he disappeared within the trailing moss, but within moments he had dropped back down, holding the fruit gingerly by their stems. Curiously, the moss came with him. 

Robotnik clambered over the plants at the edge of the forest, bringing a tree’s-worth of moss out with him. It was stuck to his clothes and hair and was so long it trailed to the ground like a monk’s robes.

“Get this off me,” he growled.

“Hmm, are you sure? I think it’s a good look for you, sir. Very wizardly.” 

With a sneer, Robotnik passed the fruit to Stone and began to pull the moss off his clothes, but it wouldn’t budge. In fact, it wouldn’t let go of his hand either, and when Stone noticed the first drops of blood appearing amongst the silvery filaments, then he knew something was wrong. The moss stuck harder the more the doctor moved, until his hands were bound together. Stone grabbed a stick and tried to unhook the moss that way, but only succeeded in drawing more blood.

“Ow, damn it, stop!” Robotnik’s hands shook and scarlet blood dripped down his wrists. “It has barbs like a fishhook, you can’t just rip it out.”

“Ok, let me try-” Hoping to avoid the minuscule barbs, Stone pinched a filament between his nails and worked it backwards out of Robotnik’s skin, but removing one segment only helped to sink another one in further. Robotnik flinched as Stone accidentally tugged on an embedded piece, and the rest of the barbs dug in deeper.

“Stop touching me, you moron! For fuck’s sake, just stand over there and don’t breathe.” 

Stone stepped back, worry and guilt making his stomach churn. 

“I can’t hear myself think over the sound of your feelings, Stone.” 

With a sigh, Stone turned his back and walked a few paces away. Why did he put up with Robotnik’s bullshit, again? Of course, currently, he was the only other human on the planet, so if it was a choice between enduring crippling loneliness or insults from his boss, well… Stone wasn’t in the business of lying to himself, so he had to admit that loneliness sounded like an attractive opportunity. But he enjoyed the doctor’s company so much, when he wasn’t being a tool, at least. 

He was usually friendly to Stone, but that had changed when they started tracking the alien back on Earth. Then after they crashed on this planet, Robotnik had been in an almost constant foul mood. Stone ground his teeth, biting back everything he wanted to say. It wasn’t fair of Robotnik to take out his frustration on him. 

“Okay, Stone, get the knife out of my pack and bring that piece of wood you were using.” 

Briefly, he considered letting him suffer, but Stone knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did. He obeyed faithfully, as always. 

“Use the branch like a cutting board and cut my hands free.” 

Stone did his best, but the moss was surprisingly tough. He cut and sawed away but ended up damaging the branch more than the moss. Stone held a loop between his thumb and forefinger, feeling the barbs sink into his own flesh, and brought the knife through the top of the loop. It cut, but now part of the moss was stuck to Stone as well and there were hundreds more filaments to cut through.

“That’s not going to work, Stone,” Robotnik sighed. 

He looked into the doctor’s eyes, which were tense with pain, and regretted even considering letting him suffer. “I’m sorry.” 

Ripping the barbs out of his own fingers, Stone got to work. First, he cut off the part of Robotnik’s sleeves that were thickest with moss, ensuring no more filaments hooked into his bare skin. Then, laying the knife blade nearly flat against his arm, he cut down towards his wrist, shaving the vines off right at the point where they attached. He managed to avoid cutting Robotnik with the knife, but the blade pushed the barbs deeper in and a wide swath of blood appeared after each stroke. 

The moss fell away from his arms with little effort, but the hands were a different matter. Vicious silver tendrils wrapped around both hands and between his fingers. It was delicate work, and Robotnik’s serrated pocket knife was not the right tool for the job. A fillet knife might have sufficed, but that brought to mind times past when Stone had filleted fish after a day on the lake, and the comparison made him queasy. His hands were becoming slippery with Robotnik’s blood.

Pushing back those disturbing thoughts, Stone went after every strand before cutting the whole clump free, and the moss fell to the ground, a messy pile of silver and red. 

Robotnik flexed his shaking hands, scattering droplets of blood across the golden grass. 

They moved far away from the forest and its stinging moss before Stone even thought about getting the rest of the moss out of his hair and beard. It was badly tangled, but luckily it didn’t appear that any of the vines had attached to his face. Though, his flight suit was another matter. Moss wrapped around his shoulders and draped down his back, and Stone wasn’t sure he would be able to remove it without destroying the jacket. That wasn’t something they could afford to lose with the cold setting in. 

Supporting Robotnik by the elbow, Stone helped him kneel on the grass for stability. He managed to cut the moss off his jacket with minimal damage and used the blade to chuck the fallen pieces far away, where they wouldn’t accidentally touch them again. Then he paused. 

The doctor’s hair had grown longer in the time they’d spent on the planet, and while his undercut needed a touch up, it still looked good. However, the vines had woven themselves in deep, and there was nothing else Stone could do. 

Still, it felt wrong, somehow, to cut his hair. 

“Stone?” 

“Look down for me.” 

He started at the nape of his neck, shaving slowly and carefully, as close to the skin as he could get in order to avoid stabbing him with moss barbs. Very soon, the task became mechanical, and he watched the doctor’s hair fall away as if someone else were doing the cutting. The longer hair on top was trickier, as that’s where the majority of the moss had stuck, and Stone pricked himself in the fingers several times before they were both finally free of the horrid plant. 

Robotnik looked at the hair piled next to them, but Stone couldn’t read his expression. 

There were moss tendrils in his beard, and Stone wasn’t sure they could be picked out safely. “Do you want me to do this part for you?” Stone asked. He felt awkward, as if he had taken something that didn’t belong to him. 

Turning to face him, Robotnik shrugged. “Fine.” 

Stone leaned towards him and held his jaw steady with one hand. He started in front of his ear and shaved down his cheek, trying not to think of the massive potential for razor burn using a dull camping knife and no shaving cream. 

Running the knife over the curve of his jaw, Stone tilted up Robotnik’s chin and began to work on his neck. The hair fell away. The skin below was pale and rough and Stone was so close to his face that he could smell him. His jaw was warm in Stone’s hand and the knife gleamed against the flesh of his throat. 

Then he noticed Robotnik looking at him, his lip quirked in the slightest of smiles. Closing his eyes with all the concern of a cat napping in sunshine, he rolled his head back, giving Stone full access to his throat. 

Putting the knife down, Stone pressed his lips to the corner of Robotnik’s jaw where he could smell his masculine scent. The rain yesterday had washed off the mushroom grime, and now he could drink in his scent. He could almost taste him, could imagine how it would feel to be wrapped in his embrace, their limbs entwined, all passion and heat, whispered commands and voices low with need. 

Stone kissed Robotnik on the lips, hesitant, before taking a breath and fighting back against the tide of arousal. In the corner of his mind that was still operational, he wondered what the hell he was doing. There was a conversation they needed to have before any amorous activities happened, one that Stone had put off for so long that it would feel awkward to bring up now. One that might begin with  _ by the way, sir, I think I’m in love with you… _

Instead of dealing with all  _ that _ , Stone finished shaving Robotnik, then stood up and walked it off. He went back to the edge of the woods and breathed in the scent of the flowers, trying desperately to clear his head. He’d just kissed Robotnik, and that wasn’t a road he was ready to go down, no matter how right it felt. He liked the man too much to risk messing things up.

Moss dripped from the branches, quivering in the wind like the beard of a dragon, and now he knew, equally as dangerous. What other dangers lurked on the canopy of this mushroom planet? The thought occurred to him that he and Robotnik might actually be the most dangerous things here, especially to each other. Before returning, he picked up the fruit that Robotnik had gone through so much pain to retrieve. 

Robotnik’s lip curled when he caught sight of it. “If that turns out to be toxic, I’ll throw you in next, Stone.” 

“No,” Stone growled, surprising even himself. “You have to be nice to me.” 

“What?”

“You can’t insult me, or hit me, or threaten me anymore. I’ve worked for you for years, and I deserve better than the way you treat me.”

“Jesus, I give you a knife and all the power goes-”

“I mean it,” Stone interrupted. He held Robotnik’s gaze steadily. 

After a moment, Robotnik nodded once. Then he retrieved the first aid kit from his pack and began cleaning and bandaging his hands. He winced as he rubbed antibiotic ointment into the wounds, then he wrapped sterile gauze around the worst of the cuts. His hands were covered in gauze by the time he was through, and fortunately the bleeding had already stopped, because once they used up that roll, they were out. They were running low on all supplies.

Robotnik reached out for Stone’s hand and began to clean up the cuts on his fingers. Stone hadn’t gotten it nearly as bad as Robotnik, but the barbs had managed to tear into his skin during the process of removal and they stung. 

Night insects began to hum as the first moon appeared in the eastern sky. Despite the stress of their ordeal, the woods were beautiful and a sense of tranquility began to envelope Stone. Emerald leaves turned black in the night and gradually lightened to silver as the moon rose, and the scent of the flowers reminded Stone of an orange grove. They had fruit that they could maybe eat, and the shrubs around the edge of the plain provided some shelter from the wind. Robotnik had agreed to be nice, though as of yet, he hadn’t apologized. Stone would work on that later. 

Maybe things weren’t all bad.

“Can we stay here a while?” Stone asked as he and Robotnik settled in for the night, nursing their wounds and their raw emotions. 

“I think so,” Robotnik said. He leveled a weary glance at Stone. “Just stay away from the moss.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~But I didn’t know how much I needed you~
> 
> Thank you everyone for your comments! I appreciate y'all so much! <3

“Ah, you’re finally awake.”

Stone opened his eyes to Robotnik standing over him. The sun was up, though the day was overcast and he couldn’t tell how late it was. Regardless of the time, however, Robotnik had been busy. More of the yellow fruit was gathered in bowls made from upturned mushroom caps. Some pieces were cut open, revealing a brown seed in the center of each one. Others were mashed. Others were still attached to tendrils of moss, which had been dug up with the roots intact. The spindly leaves of palm fronds lay scattered about the area. It looked like Robotnik had begun weaving and then given up. 

“I need your phone.” 

Wordlessly, Stone took his phone out of his inner jacket pocket and handed it to Robotnik. It had been dead since before they crashed, and even if they had an outlet, Stone wondered if it would work considering how often it had gotten wet from the rain. He only carried it out of habit anyway, along with his wallet. Both items served very little purpose here. 

Stone got up and stretched. If there was one good thing to be said about mushrooms, they made a reasonably soft bed, and he was able to avoid the backache he would have gotten from sleeping on the hard ground. If only the moss wasn’t covered in needles, otherwise it might have been nice to lay on. 

“Stone, come help me with this.” 

Over by the hedge bordering the plain, Robotnik was emptying out his pack. He took out his one remaining keyboard glove, a small toolkit, copper wire, Sonic’s quill, and the phone and laid them out in front of him. Stone settled in next to him, thinking to himself how on brand it was for the doctor to have a backpack full of small-electronic repair equipment but with very little in the way of food and water. 

Robotnik retrieved a screwdriver from his toolkit and began taking apart the smartphone, passing the tiny screws to Stone for safekeeping. Using a plastic pry tool, he popped the screen out, removed a sheet metal component, pried up the battery cable, and then began to cut the tape holding the battery in place. Stone always liked watching Robotnik work. His hands were deft and he never hesitated. This time, though, with his hands wrapped in gauze and his fingers covered in minuscule cuts, even the simple task of removing a battery was somewhat arduous. 

Eventually, he detached the battery and set it on the ground. Then he set up a circuit by wiring several resistors in line and connecting the battery in parallel to the last resistor. Before he connected the circuit to the quill, he took out two pairs of safety glasses. Stone blinked. At this point, he wasn’t really surprised that Robotnik had extra safety glasses but not a single granola bar. 

Robotnik leaned over and put Stone’s glasses on for him, and for just a moment, his fingers brushed down the side of Stone’s face. But maybe he had only imagined it. 

“These things can explode, you know,” Robotnik grinned.

“I thought that was a myth.” 

“No, it’s true. Imagine, millions of technologically inept idiots damage their batteries from careless use, then they walk around in the hot sun with their phones in their pockets and no ventilation, it’s like they’re trying to cause a malfunction. I’m surprised they don’t start on fire all the time. And they say drone tech is dangerous.” 

Stone wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. 

“Stand back behind the hedge, okay?” 

Maybe he really did think it might explode. “Will you be alright, sir?” 

“Yeah. But the quill is incredibly strong, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it overcharges the phone battery, even with the voltage divider, so if it does start on fire…” he paused. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

Feeling like he was back at the Farm during his first round of weapons training, Stone hunkered down behind the hedge and watched Robotnik connect the alligator clips to either side of the quill. A faint blue glow arose from within the quill for a moment, then nothing. Robotnik touched the phone battery and nodded decisively. 

“Is that it?” Stone asked, peering over the leaves.

“Yeah. What did you expect? Sparks? Blue lightning?” 

“Well, that’s what usually happens in movies.” Stone went back to sit by Robotnik, who was smiling at him.

“Your faith in Hollywood physics is endearing. We’ll give it a couple minutes, then see if it really worked.” 

After a short while, Robotnik disconnected the clips and took apart the circuit. As they didn’t have any replacement tape, he used a piece of the original adhesive and stuck the battery back in place. Then, Stone handed him screws one by one until the phone was put back together. He pressed the button to turn it on, and like a miracle, it worked. At least, it seemed like a miracle to Stone, who hadn’t taken a physics course since undergrad, though he supposed he should know by now not to doubt the doctor’s abilities. 

“Alrighty, then,” Robotnik muttered, typing in Stone’s passcode and opening up the illicit software he had installed ages ago. At the time, Stone had been unsure whether his superiors would approve of him letting Robotnik install his own programs on Stone’s government-issued smartphone, but Robotnik had insisted, and Stone didn’t like to say no to him. The way Robotnik went on, anyone would think smartphones had been designed specifically to irritate him. Stone could hear his voice in his head now. 

It had been five months since Stone was assigned to the security team in Robotnik’s lab. At that point, the doctor had been as prickly and unfriendly as he had ever been, and Stone wondered if they would ever grow used to each other. Feeling like he could never win, Stone stayed late in the lab one day, intending to tell Robotnik before he put in a request for a transfer. However, to his surprise, Robotnik called him into his office and set a coffee down in front of him. What had he said then? 

_ Agent Stone. You’ve been working for me for almost six months now, and your superiors in the DoD are hounding me for a progress report. Apparently they want to know if you are a good fit. Do you want to know what I told them? _

Stone had said nothing; he was anticipating a harsh criticism, and he didn’t want to make it worse for himself. 

After a brief hesitation, Robotnik had said something astonishing.  _ I never thought I would thank the US government for anything, but I told them that I was grateful for sending you. You are one of the most reliable people I have ever had the fortune to meet. I know I’m not always… easy to work with.  _

It had taken all of Stone’s training to keep a straight face and not scoff at that remark.

_ But I appreciate everything you do. You know, I think you’re the first person I’ve met from the Intelligence Community who actually has a brain.  _

Stone had said thank you and gotten up to leave, feeling somewhat flummoxed. He’d come to resign, but now he was reconsidering. Robotnik had stopped him, however.

_ Can I borrow your phone before you go? Corporate-consumer software is inefficient and useless to anyone who wants to do real work and if you are going to continue to work for me, then you need a computer that’s capable of more than just cat pictures and constant surveillance _ . 

That was the day he learned Robotnik actually had a heart. 

In the end, Robotnik had taken the phone for several days and Stone figured it was better not to ask too many questions. The thought of leaving never crossed his mind again.

Though if he had, maybe he wouldn’t be stranded on an alien planet now. Would it be worth it? He had gained so much working with Robotnik, not just in terms of professional skills, but in terms of friendship, complicated though it may be. The thought of his life without Robotnik… Stone decided he didn’t like the idea. 

Robotnik’s voice brought Stone out of his reverie. “It’s too bad I don’t have my soldering iron…” he was saying, pulling out several cords and adapters from his pack. His command glove usually operated on a wireless connection when he was in range of his mobile lab, but also had a wired port so he could connect directly to the system and reprogram when needed. However, he’d dropped the smartphone-to-glove adapter on the day they’d first landed, and he didn’t have a spare. “This is idiotic. Who packed this bag?” 

“Pretty sure you did, sir.”

“Cheeky,” Robotnik growled, fighting back a smile. “I don’t have the right adapters to connect it directly, so I’ll just have to improvise.” 

He used a wire stripper to cut two adapters with different plugs and strip off a portion of the insulation, then twisted the ends together. Finally, he used the series of cables to connect his glove to Stone’s phone and a program automatically started up, ready to receive data from the glove. It was the same app that he had used to analyze the mushroom when they’d first landed.

Slipping the glove on, Robotnik grabbed a berry and scanned it. Words flashed across the display;  _ p _ -hydroxybenzoic acid, cyanidin-3-glucoside, ɑ-hydroxynitrile, malic acid, water, glucose, aspartic acid, leucine, vitamin C, and more, all the molecular ingredients of the fruit. It took several minutes for the program to analyze and interpret the data, but after it was done scanning, a window popped up that read: “75% chemical match  _ Prunus cerasus _ (sour cherry). Warning: cyanogenic compounds detected.” 

Robotnik cut up another sample and analyzed different components alone, the pit, the flesh, the skin, and eventually he was satisfied with the results. “Well, there you have it. It’s an alien cherry.”

“So it’s safe to eat?”

“According to the data, yes. There are harmful compounds in the pit, but that’s the same as an Earth cherry. As long as we don’t eat the seeds, we should be fine. But... let me try it first and see if anything bad happens.” He removed the seed and ate the cherry. “If I’m still alive in half an hour, then you can have one.”

Reaching into his pack, Robotnik examined the dwindling contents of the first aid kit. He pulled out a clear med vial and held it up to the light, frowning. There was a very small amount of liquid left. 

Stone thought about his own meds, which were sitting in his suitcase in Robotnik’s mobile lab back on Earth. Modern medicine was something he’d never take for granted again. 

While they waited, Robotnik wrote some of the info from the smartphone into his field notebook, while Stone grabbed a handful of thick, spiny leaves and tried to figure out how to weave them into something useful. People had been braiding grasses for thousands of years; there had to be a way to make what they needed. He arranged them in a square pattern and tied the ends, then held it up for Robotnik to see. 

“Congratulations, you made a placemat. Set it down, and I’ll make you a fancy dinner.” 

Stone watched in bemusement as Robotnik set the water bottle and a flat rock down in front of Stone on the woven mat of leaves. He picked up a single cherry, removed the seed, and placed it with a flourish in the center of the rock. Laughing, Stone reached for the fruit, only for Robotnik to beat him to it. 

“No, wait. Let me.” Robotnik leaned over the mat and raised the fruit to Stone’s lips. His expression was carefully, infuriatingly neutral, and Stone suddenly wondered if this was anything more than another lab experiment. Would the doctor write down observations about Stone in that notebook of his? 

He ate the cherry, tongue brushing ever-so-slightly against Robotnik’s fingers. It was tart, an astonishing flavor after so long subsisting off flavorless fungi. 

“Do you like it?” Robotnik asked. 

Swallowing thickly, Stone wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Was he reading this situation right? Was Robotnik flirting? Or maybe he was just being a bro, a good, homoerotic, best bro… 

“It’s a little sour. Might be good in a pie. Or a jam, you know, it could be a cherry jam, for scones or something, or a cherry-habanero salsa…” Why the ever-loving  _ fuck _ was he talking about jam?

Robotnik just raised his eyebrow and walked away, gathering more cherries and mushrooms to make a complete meal. Stone took a moment to kick himself before Robotnik returned and they ate in silence. Mushrooms and sour cherries really didn’t go together, but the need for variety far outweighed the awfulness of the combination. He craved stimulation… of the gastronomic type, that is. 

They spent the rest of the day resting under dreary gray skies, taking in the sights and smells of their little woodland. Crossing over to the trees, Stone collected more spindly leaves and attempted new weaving patterns, while Robotnik used his glove device to analyze various plants and fungi, including a sample of the prickly moss. Now that they finally had a break from endless walking, they felt the exhaustion more keenly. By the time the moons were up, they were already asleep.

Weeks passed in much the same manner. The forest was life-giving, even just the sound of wind through the leaves made Stone feel at peace. Every morning, he woke up to the sweet jasmine scent of the wildflowers, and every night, he lay in the shelter of the plants and watched the sky darken through a cross-hatching of green ferns. Still, he felt the urgency of exploring, of searching for a way home, so he and Robotnik continued to take short forays into the surrounding landscape. There was nothing to find, except more plants and fungi. No way down to the forest floor, and no way back to Earth. 

Robotnik frequently returned to the crash site, which was a two day round trip from their camp by the woods, and Stone insisted on accompanying him every time. He wasn’t sure what Robotnik was looking for. They had already gone through every single component of the broken airship. There was nothing Robotnik could do without replacement parts and equipment specialized for engine repair. Each time he visited the crash site, Robotnik seemed to lose a little more hope, but he couldn’t leave it alone. Stone wished there was something he could do. 

As the days wore on, the weather grew increasingly gray, and even the beauty of the forest wasn’t enough to shake off the melancholy. The chill in the air didn’t help either. One night, Stone woke up covered in a layer of frost and his breath came out in icy puffs. As usual when he woke in the middle of the night, he looked over to check on Robotnik, but he wasn’t where he usually was. Pulling his jacket tighter around his shoulders, Stone stood up and began to search. 

Through the gloom, he spotted Robotnik sitting on a rock at the edge of the plateau. His arms were wrapped tightly around his chest. Stone sat down next to him and offered his own jacket, but Robotnik shook his head. They listened to the wind, and the music of the rustling leaves. 

“Do you regret coming to work for me?” Robotnik asked, almost too quietly to hear. 

“I didn’t choose my assignment.” 

That had been the wrong thing to say. Robotnik’s lips tightened into a thin line. 

“What I mean to say is I’m glad I was assigned to you.” 

“Even though we’re lost on a deserted planet with no hope of rescue?” 

Stone looked at Robotnik, who was gazing steadily at the dark horizon. “Do you really believe there’s no hope, sir?” 

His question was met with silence. 

“You should sleep,” Stone murmured. 

“Too cold.” 

Robotnik’s flight suit was thin, and his hair had only just started growing back. The ends of his sleeves only went down to his elbows anyway, after Stone had chopped them off to remove the barbed moss. Stone watched him shiver, feeling more useless than he ever had in his life.

“Take my jacket.” 

“No.” 

“Sleep with me.” 

That made Robotnik pause. He looked at Stone out of narrowed eyes. “I don’t want your pity, Stone.” 

Sighing, Stone wasn’t sure he had the energy to explain that what he felt wasn’t anything near pity. He didn’t want to argue about his emotions, not when they were both cold and tired and cheerless. 

“Be cold then.” Going back to his bed under the ferns, Stone tried to remember what it felt like to be warm and safe at home. Seemed like nothing more than a distant dream. Once upon a time, Stone had stood in front of the wide glass doors of a high-security building on the Potomac, clutching the papers that held the details of his new assignment. It had been a blisteringly sunny day, and the air above the streets shimmered from the heat, and he remembered being grateful to step into the air conditioned building. The secretary at the front desk had directed him down to the basement, though when he arrived, the lab had been empty. He waited for an hour before getting bored. Wandering around, searching in vain for another human soul, Stone had ended up crossing through the underground corridors into an entirely different building when he finally got a call on his cell from an unknown number. It turned out to be his new boss, who handed him his ass on a platter for lateness before they had even met face to face. Stone was completely prepared to hate him. 

Of course, first impressions were often wrong. He had loved Robotnik almost instantly, ignoring that first disastrous phone call, at least. Nobody had ever challenged him, tested him, inspired him to be his absolute best more than Robotnik had from day one. Stone had admired him for his genius and passion, and he quickly learned to love his sardonic sense of humor, too. The doctor was a whirlwind, and Stone was happy to dance in his wake. 

But he wanted more than just to trail after him. Stone had a lot to offer, both personally and professionally, though Robotnik was often too wrapped up in his own projects to notice. 

Stone was finally drifting on the edge of sleep, dreaming about a dogwood tree bursting with white flowers that turned into miniature drones as they fell to the ground, when a cough woke him up. He startled awake, to find Robotnik crouching near him. 

Rolling onto his side, Stone held out his arm in an inviting gesture. Hesitating only briefly, Robotnik settled in along his side and buried his face in Stone’s chest. He was cold. 

“Are you comfortable, sir?” Stone asked.

“You can call me Ivo, if you want.” 

Stone wrapped him in his embrace, and Ivo seemed to melt into his body like he belonged there. 

“I’m going back to the crash site,” Robotnik announced several days later.

“What? We just got back.” And Stone had just started a project of his own; making a homemade deck of cards. He used the papery white bark of a tree for the cards, and a yellowish dye made from mushroom spores to paint the numbers and suits. The paintbrush he had made from a stick and his own hair. They were finally starting to look good, though they did tend to rip whenever he tried to shuffle them. 

“You don’t have to come with me.”

“Yes, I do. What if you fall?”

“There’s nothing you can do about that if it happens.” 

“I can drop food down to you,” Stone argued. 

Slinging on his backpack, Robotnik gave him a raised eyebrow ‘are you coming?’ expression. Stone put his cards away and hurried after him. 

The clouds had been building for what felt like ages, though it hadn’t rained since the night Stone almost fell off the canopy. After so long without seeing the sun, they were starting to go stir crazy with a sense of claustrophobia, as if the sky were closing in. It was only a matter of time before the rains came, and Robotnik explained that he wanted to make sure the pieces of the aircraft were secure. 

So, once again, they made what was becoming an all too familiar trek, down one long slope and up the other side of the valley, only to descend once more before they reached the broken remains of Robotnik’s prototype. With the skies an unchanging shade of steely gray, every hour seemed the same as the one before. Stone tuned out the world and thought about nothing other than the dull ache in his feet for the majority of the walk, and he was almost surprised when they arrived before dark. 

Robotnik set to work - doing what? He rearranged the same pieces that he had rearranged last time. Stabbing the mushroom cap with a stick, he checked for any signs of rot or instability, and found none, same as last time. The computer interface in the cockpit, which was nothing more than a pair of seats surrounded by broken glass, was still broken, same as last time. 

“Maybe if you pee on it, all the other cats will stay away,” Stone commented. 

Without even needing to see his face, Stone could feel the doctor glaring at him. “This is our greatest asset. I wish I could move the pieces to our camp, but they’re too heavy to carry that far.” He circled around the aircraft as if weighing and measuring in his mind. 

Even though he knew he was right, Stone felt that Robotnik’s obsession with the pieces was born more of desperation than any actual plan. The onboard computer had been fried, the engines were busted, the sheet metal was bent, even the leather of the seats was starting to fall apart from exposure to the elements. The cushioning was starting to smell like mushrooms, otherwise they would have brought them back to their camp. What was Robotnik looking for in the rubble? 

“There’s nothing more to do here.” Stone took him by the hand and led him a few steps away. With regret, Robotnik looked over his shoulder before following. “We can make it part way back before full dark.” 

They started on the long road back, and Stone tried not to be annoyed at making the trip yet again for no good reason. It wasn’t like he had any pressing commitments to attend to. And by that point, he was used to walking all day. His calves were rock hard, and both of them had grown lean and muscular. Stone was in the best shape of his life, as long as he ignored the constant low level hunger, stress, boredom, and homesickness. Yeah, he was doing stellar. 

While walking, Stone pondered the cyclic nature of human life. They had successfully returned to their hunter-gatherer roots, despite being raised in an advanced, industrialized society. It was lucky, he supposed, that their evolutionary heritage never really left them. Society could collapse in an instant, but the Earth would endure long after the last city had crumbled to dust.  Maybe if they ever returned, they could get rich by talking about their experiences on reality TV and never have to work another day in their lives. Or they could start a cult. Maybe Stone would write a book: “My Proto-Indo-European Life.”

“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Robotnik said, breaking into his thoughts. 

“What? Sorry.” 

“I said we should stop for the night, unless you want to step off the edge of a cliff.” 

Indeed, the starless sky had grown nearly black behind the clouds. They were on a low portion of the canopy, a dark pit at the bottom of an even darker pit that was the universe above their heads. He laid down with Robotnik in his arms the same way he had made the walk: on autopilot. Sleep took him quickly, due as much to boredom as exhaustion. 

Though when he woke during the middle of the night, his pounding heart burned away any remaining trace of boredom. Robotnik was sitting bolt upright, entire body tense as a coiled spring. Casting his gaze frantically around the pitch dark night, Stone couldn’t immediately place what was wrong.

“Ivo-”

“Shh. Listen.” 

A fearsome growl, and a noise like fabric tearing. The hair stood up on the back of Stone’s neck, and he moved in close behind Robotnik, wrapping his arms protectively around his shoulders. A shudder reverberated up through the mushroom stem, and Stone realized the sounds were coming from the forest floor. Far below in the hidden darkness, animals snarled and snapped their jaws. They had low voices and heavy pawsteps, and every so often one would crash into a stalk and send the canopy swaying. Teeth clicked, and one of the creatures screamed in agony. It sounded eerily human. 

The fight continued for what seemed like ages, while Stone and Robotnik listened in terrified silence, trying to quiet their rapid breaths. What manner of creatures prowled below in the loamy murk? More importantly, could they climb? 

Robotnik turned his head and spoke softly into Stone’s ear. “Let go of my arms so I can reach my knife if I need to.” 

But neither of them moved from that spot until the nightmare subsided and the sun began to rise behind the gray clouds. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Without you, the world would be covered by layers of decay, death with no hope of renewal~

Stone had finally finished his cards, and it took very little convincing to get Robotnik to sit down for a friendly competition. 

“The game is one-two no limit Hold ‘Em, aces wild.” 

They posted the anti, which consisted of round green leaves. Delicately, he shuffled the cards and then Robotnik cut the deck before Stone dealt two cards face down to each of them. After checking his hand, Stone raised the bet, which Robotnik matched, and the game continued. 

“Whatcha got for me?” Robotnik teased. 

Stone laid down his cards, making two pair. 

“Aw, nice try, but I will be taking that.” Robotnik won the hand with three threes. He dragged the small leaf pile over to himself. With only two players, the rounds went by at lightning speed, and Stone realized that poker wasn’t quite as exciting with such a limited table. It didn’t matter how good Robotnik was at bluffing, Stone had to call him or hand over the pot immediately. 

Robotnik seemed to concur. “As thrilling as it is to take your pretend money, why don’t we make this more interesting?”

Looking up in surprise, Stone tried to decipher the glint in Robotnik’s eye.  _ If he’s about to suggest strip poker… _

“No.”

“You don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I know exactly what you were thinking in that filthy mind of yours, Agent Stone. But I’m talking about the MRE. Forget about the betting. Best hand wins.” 

He had completely forgotten about the MRE stuck in the bottom of Robotnik’s pack. With a grin, Stone nodded. Robotnik shuffled and dealt their hands, then turned up the community cards. Stone had another two pair, which he reluctantly laid down. 

Robotnik smirked. “Face the facts, I’m just naturally superior, and the universe agrees.” He had won with a straight. 

“Double or nothing!”

“What do you mean, double or nothing? There’s only one MRE.” 

“Okay…” Stone thought quickly, “If you win, I’ll take you out on a date when we get home.” 

“Are you implying you’d be the loser in that situation?” He steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and regarded Stone with a mock serious expression.

“Well, see, that depends where you want to go. I don’t care much for the CDC’s offices, but I hear they’re nice this time of year.” 

Laughing, the doctor rolled his eyes. “Alright, you’re on.” 

Again, Stone shuffled and dealt the cards, then turned up five cards in the middle. As luck would have it, Stone finally won with a two pair vs. Robotnik’s high queen. “What’s that you were saying about the universe?”

Robotnik dug through his pack and brought out the long-awaited bag of dehydrated food-like material. In the past, Stone had regarded MREs as a necessary evil, though he’d never been in a situation where he relied on them for sustenance. Until now, that is. Now, recognizing the dark irony of this role reversal, an MRE sounded like a delicacy after eating mushrooms every day for nearly two months. 

Bowing like a maitre’d with one hand behind his back, Robotnik presented the MRE to Stone. 

He looked at the front of the packaging. Creamy beef and… “Are you shitting me?” 

“What, are you a gourmand all of a sudden?” Robotnik crouched next to him, and then saw what Stone was referring to. He laughed, nearly tipping over into the dirt. “Mushrooms! I am so sorry. I had no idea, honestly.” 

“God. I would have eaten the  _ vomlet _ if I had to, but this… this is something else. Did you even look at it before getting me all hyped up?”

“Yeah, I must have when I bought it, but I guess I forgot.” He shook with silent laughter. “Even I couldn’t have planned a joke this great.” 

Stone shook his head helplessly. MREs at their best were an awful affair, but to have his anticipation met with  _ more mushrooms _ … It was actually kind of funny, as long as he pretended it was happening to someone else.

Opening the pack, he unwrapped the plastic and took bags out of other bags until all the components were separated. The plastic and cardboard would be useful materials to save. In addition, the single spoon that came with the meal felt like a highly advanced cultural artifact, and Stone clutched it protectively. He stuck the meal packet in the heater bag and poured water in, put it all back in the cardboard, and let it cook. Looking at the sides, he almost didn’t know what to eat first. For the past several weeks, his choices had been exclusively mushrooms, or more recently, alien cherries, but now he had crackers, cheese spread, corn bread, and iced tea mix. 

Robotnik swallowed audibly, and Stone had to laugh at the two of them salivating over an MRE like a pair of starving strays. Which wasn’t too far from the truth, really. He opened up the cornbread and gave it to Robotnik, taking the crackers for himself. 

He raised his portion in a toast. “Committed to excellence…” Stone began. 

“...in defense of the nation,” Robotnik finished wryly. Then they ate their government-issued rations, and enjoyed it too, despite the proliferation of mushrooms. The iced tea tasted what Stone imagined the fountain of youth to taste like; it was worlds better than the tepid pond water he’d grown accustomed to. 

Then he thought of something. If he’d won, was the other half of the bet off? “Hey, we can still go on that date, right?”

“Only if you promise to take me somewhere better than the CDC.” Tucking himself into the crook of Stone’s arm, Robotnik laid his head on his shoulder. His eyes were full of mischief. 

“Oh, wow. You’re setting the bar pretty high, Ivo, I’m not sure I can deliver. Let’s think… better than the CDC? Well, I suppose we could go count ducks in the Reflecting Pool.” 

“I have absolute faith in you, Stone.” 

After a short break, they got back to work, which on that day consisted of leaning over the edges of the canopy, trying to see down to the forest floor. The animals they had heard two nights ago had spooked them both, even though Stone pointed out that they hadn’t found any signs of large animals up on the surface. And so far, they hadn’t found a way to get up or down from below, which gave him hope that they were safe. Robotnik found his own measure of peace in observing and recording details in his notebook, so Stone tagged along to keep him company. 

He lay on his back in a rare patch of late afternoon sunshine. Beside him, Robotnik lay prone, peering over the side of a mushroom. He had been perfectly still for hours, as if he were a marksman waiting for his quarry. Stone wouldn’t call himself a firearm aficionado, exactly, though he was proficient in their handling; in fact, he thought the world could do with a few less guns, but right now a rifle sounded like a luxury. They could have meat, if only they could first locate an animal, and then haul it up from the forest floor. 

“Stone!” Robotnik hissed through his teeth.

Stone froze, and didn’t dare move to look. “Is it the monster?” His heart skipped a beat, and he felt a chill despite the warmth of the day.

“No, it’s… more like a weasel, really.” 

Gently punching Robotnik in the shoulder, Stone rolled over onto his belly and looked down. At the base of a mushroom several yards ahead and far below, a small furry creature was sniffing around in the dark shadows. It was hard to make out any significant details from such a distance, but weasel-like was an accurate descriptor. It wasn’t all that interesting. Though, to be fair, it was the only animal they had seen besides birds and themselves, so Stone spent a moment watching it shuffle out of sight. 

Is this what life would be like for the rest of time? Endless dreary days broken only occasionally by the rare sight of a small mammal, fifty feet below them and out of reach even in their dreams. Stone drifted along on a sailless boat in a sea of apathy, but every once in a while, encountered an island of fear and adrenaline, with unseen monsters lurking in the depths. Would he eventually grow to welcome death? Would he grow old and gray with a beard trailing to his ankles, and realize with his last breath that he had forgotten what home looked like? 

He wondered what would happen if they ever got home. They had failed to apprehend a sensitive target, and had caused a not-insignificant amount of property damage during the struggle. Stone’s superiors at the DIA, not to mention higher-ups in the Army, the CIA, and the executive branch, would probably not be happy with his work performance. As for Robotnik, he was widely considered a liability, even before this spectacular failure of a mission. He was too smart, too prone to anarchy, and knew too many military secrets. 

Would they be able to resume their lives right where they’d left off? Did Stone still have a job? An ID? A bank account? He already felt like a ghost on the mushroom planet, maybe he was a ghost back on Earth, too. 

Thoughts wandering, he lay on his side and trailed his fingertips down Robotnik’s arm. The warmth of his body was the only comfort in this empty landscape. Stone relished the closeness he felt with the doctor, but privately worried that it was only a closeness born of necessity, and not actual love. Would he do the same if he were stranded with anyone else? Humans are a touchy-feely sort of species, so the answer was probably yes. 

That didn’t mean he didn’t love the man. In fact, Stone was realizing that he had loved the doctor for a very long time. But did Robotnik love him back?

Tired of constantly worrying about matters out of his control, Stone flipped onto his back and watched the clouds go by. They were white, fluffy, perfect clouds, and if he ignored the stench of mushroom, he could almost pretend that he was on Earth. The weather was crisp but the sun was warm, just like early autumn back home. He could pretend he and Robotnik were having a picnic after going for a nature walk in a grassy meadow. They could cuddle together in the grass and drink chilled wine wrapped in a red and white checkered cloth, and maybe they had a dog they could throw a stick for. A big goofy yellow dog, like the one Stone’s family had when he was a kid. Buster. He missed Buster, who sadly had passed away before Stone started college. If he ever got another dog, he would name it something strong, something traditional. Like Rex. Or Yanni. 

He was about to ask Robotnik if he liked dogs when something caught his eye up in the clouds. It was… but no, it couldn’t be.

“Hey!” He elbowed Robotnik and pointed up to where the shape flew by, a dark speck against white clouds.

“What are you…” Robotnik fell speechless, and then without warning, jumped to his feet. Scrambling up after him, Stone could do nothing else but watch the shape as it traversed the cloudscape. 

It was a plane, unmistakably. It had two short wings, stabilizers, twin turbojet engines on the back, a compact black body. It was flying fairly low, too, and fast, though if it continued straight, it would go right past them without crossing over their heads. As it approached, the whine of the engine grew louder, like a distant swarm of insects. 

“Should we…” Stone trailed off.

“I don’t know.” 

“Do you have a…”

“A flare? No.” 

They looked at each other, and then immediately back at the plane, as if afraid it would disappear in the blink of an eye. 

“Maybe they could…” Stone seemed unable to finish a sentence, but luckily the doctor was on his same wavelength. 

“Maybe they could,” Robotnik said hesitantly. 

“But?”

“That’s a military aircraft, Stone.” 

“Exactly what I was thinking, sir.” 

As one, they sat down under the shelter of the mushrooms and waited for the aircraft to pass. Stone was half convinced it had been a mirage, or a shared hallucination. They’d been thinking about rescue for so long, it would be perfectly understandable if they mistook a large bird for a faraway jet. Though, in Stone’s wildest fantasies, their rescue didn’t look like an F-15. 

“It’s alien,” Stone said.

“Almost definitely.”

“Maybe alien SAR craft just happens to look like our fighter jets.” 

Robotnik shot him a dubious look. “Did you see the missiles on that thing?” 

The aircraft faded out of sight. There was no indication that it had detected them, though if it decided to come back, there was next to nothing Stone and Robotnik could do, what with Robotnik’s prototype lying in pieces several miles from their current position. No weapons, no cover, no backup. Once when he was a little kid, Stone had imagined meeting strangers from distant worlds and thought they would surely be friendly. Then he started working for the American government.

And they had thought the planet was completely uninhabited. It had been weeks, why hadn’t they noticed an alien presence before? More to the point, why was there a need for a high-tech electronic weapon of war on a planet where the dominant species was mushrooms? 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, sir?”

“And what would that be, Agent Stone?”

“Seems to me like a little tactical acquisition is in order.” 

Robotnik laughed and leaned over to kiss Stone on the side of the head. “You are an absolute delight, have I told you that? I don’t know what I would do without you.” 

Stone didn’t sleep well that night. Monsters below, monsters above; it was becoming more urgent every day that they find a way off the planet, and soon. If there was a technologically advanced culture residing nearby, then that just might be their ticket out. Together, he and Robotnik could figure out how to fly an alien spaceship, right? Though Stone wasn’t trained in aviation, he had flown enough of Robotnik’s drones to catch on to a thing or two. Those skills were probably transferable. If not… well, he wouldn’t think about that. 

He had to get home, that was all there was to it. 

It was difficult to fight a looming sense of unreality, there on the mushroom planet. They’d only been stranded for two months, but already it felt like years had passed, and Stone often caught himself wondering if his family would remember him. But that was ridiculous; he’d been gone longer on routine assignments. And yet, the longer they were stranded out on the edge of space, the more time seemed to lose meaning. Was it possible that he and Robotnik were the only two people left in the universe? Had he just imagined his past life with other humans on Earth? 

There was another problem Stone didn’t know how to solve, the same fears that had been plaguing him for days. Even though Robotnik slept in Stone’s arms, with his head resting on Stone’s chest, he felt farther away than ever. If time on the mushroom planet was barely real, then was this real, this new relationship that had been developing ever since they crashed? He didn’t know how to navigate this liminal space under alien stars. 

Stone could feel Robotnik’s heart beat as they lay together in the still night air, but he wasn’t sure he had any sort of claim over it. He wanted so much more with Robotnik. To protect him, to stand by his side throughout all his feats of engineering, to love him, to make love to him… 

The thought that they might return to Earth and go back to being just Dr. Robotnik and his assistant was almost enough to break Stone there and then. 

He clung to the fact that Robotnik had promised him a date when they returned. He clung to the fact of Robotnik’s weight at his side, the warmth of his body and the even rhythm of his breathing. A subjective reality was easy to doubt, easy to get lost in the potentialities and affectations, to lose one’s sense of self in a universe that was incomprehensibly vast, but the touch of another person was a grounding force. Stone stroked the doctor’s back, soothing the muscles that had grown tight with exertion, and in so doing, managed to find a temporary peace within himself as well. 

Stone ground his teeth in exasperation, the peace he had experienced last night blown completely to shreds. For the past half hour, he had been arguing with Robotnik about their best course of action. Stone’s tactical training clashed with Robotnik’s sheer stubbornness and they were at an impasse.

“No offense, sir, but your expertise is in engineering, not surveillance and target acquisition.” 

“I’ve  _ surveilled and acquired _ more targets in one night than you have in your entire miserable career, Stone.”

“Actually, that’s not technically true.” Stone sensed he was wading into dangerous territory, if the doctor’s murderous look was anything to go by, but he continued anyway. “Your drones have been used in countless military and intelligence operations, but you personally have been involved in very few, and only when the Army can’t train their personnel in the use of your prototypes fast enough to complete a time-sensitive mission. I know what I’m talking about because I have more experience here.” 

“You mean your experience spying on civilians in the desert? Well, I’ll leave the surveillance aspect to you, then. Meanwhile, I’ll-”

“I’m not a spy,” Stone argued. And he’d never been to the desert. 

Robotnik rose to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest. “ _ Anyway,  _ as I was saying-”

A new thought occurred to Stone. “Hey, you know what my job actually involves, right?” 

“Yes, of course I know that. But my  _ expertise _ in weapons tech far outweighs-”

“What is my job, then?”

A flush crept up in Robotnik’s face and he mumbled something Stone didn’t catch. 

“Do you know my job title, at least? Anything about my job description or duties, go ahead. Can you name one concrete thing that I do?” Stone was growing more pissed off the longer they stood and argued. How many years had he worked with Robotnik and the man couldn’t even list a single one of Stone’s responsibilities. Did he even know what department Stone worked for? 

“You er… You bring the coffee and transcribe my notes.” To his credit, Robotnik sounded chagrined, which was rare considering the scope of his arrogance. 

Stone rubbed his forehead and counted to ten. No, he wasn’t an operations officer, but he also wasn’t a personal assistant, no matter how much Robotnik treated him like one. Though, truth be told, target acquisition was stretching the boundaries of his job description, Stone knew for a fact that he had more relevant training than Robotnik in the planning and execution of intelligence operations. Even if the doctor had access to a lab full of drone tech, R&D was a whole different realm from the actual, on-the-ground work of executing military tactics.

“I do that in addition to my actual job,” Stone explained through gritted teeth. 

“Sounds like I don’t pay you enough.” 

“Thankfully, you’re not in charge of my salary.”

At that, Robotnik’s lip twitched, though he retained a stony expression. “Alright, secret agent man. I promise I will bow to your every command from now on, if you’ll only help me do this one thing first.” 

“You’ll bow to my every command, eh?” Somehow, Stone doubted that would hold true for any significant length of time, though it gave him a little thrill to hear it. He would let the secret agent comment pass, as he knew Robotnik only said it to be contrary.

“I’ll do my best, sir,” Robotnik said, with a rakish tilt of his head.

Rolling his eyes, Stone tried not to let on that he was actually aroused by the use of the honorific. 

Before long, they were packed and ready to leave their forested oasis, and then Stone and Robotnik set off once again for the crash site. Robotnik had insisted they go there before tracking the aircraft, which is what prompted the whole argument in the first place. There was nothing more they could salvage with the tools they had on hand, and they couldn’t carry the pieces with them, so Stone didn’t see the point in returning. In fact, it seemed like a dangerous effort, because if there were hostile alien soldiers patrolling this region, they would be very likely to notice the crash site before long, if they weren’t keeping tabs on it already. 

Robotnik simply didn’t want to abandon his prototype. He said he didn’t want his tech to fall into the hands of potential enemies, but Stone had pointed out that aliens capable of space travel probably had no need for an aircraft that was barely one technological step up from the Wright brothers’ first powered flight, and the conversation had devolved from there. Going against his every instinct, not to mention his training, and his common sense, Stone followed Robotnik back to the crash site to help him camouflage the pieces.

Speaking of camouflage, there was another problem Stone had meant to address earlier. He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it towards Robotnik, who stared at him without taking it.

“What do you expect me to do with that?”

“Wear it.”

“Why?”

_ For Christ’s sake, _ Stone thought. Robotnik was determined to be difficult all day, apparently. “Your flight suit is very… red.” 

“So what?” 

“So, you look like a goddamn target, Ivo. Put on my jacket, okay? We don’t know what we’re facing here, so I want us to start preparing for everything.” 

Taking Robotnik’s pack from him, Stone freed up the doctor’s arms so he could put on the black suit jacket. It was too short, no surprise there, but the black blended in with the dark brown fungal caps more than the red. It might make a difference somewhere down the line. 

They chatted as they walked, as there wasn’t much to see in the passing countryside. 

“Can I ask how you chose the color scheme?” 

“It was a strategic design, of course. Red is intimidating and powerful, so my enemies will know to fear me on sight. Like the British Army.” 

Stone gave him a sideways glance. “I think you’re full of bullshit.” The doctor had a dramatic streak a mile wide. Personally, Stone guessed he’d picked the color for the aesthetic and no other reason. Still, he looked hella good, even now when the suit was fraying at the edges and covered in mud stains and mushroom grime. 

“Have some respect, Stone.” 

“I think you’re full of bullshit, sir.” Stone chirped.

With a growl, Robotnik elbowed him in the ribs.

The familiar ache had returned to Stone’s legs by the time they arrived at the crash site. It was exactly the same as it had been since they arrived; a broken, heartrending reminder of the home they had left behind. Stone had worked with Robotnik on the entire project, which was years in development. He’d been there for the initial concept design and planning. He personally had overseen the shipment and delivery of the high tech, state of the art engine, propulsion, and weapons components. He had watched Robotnik and his team spend countless hours hand building the prototype, until finally it was ready for its first mission. He had sat in the cockpit with Robotnik as they pursued a dangerous target, who, Stone had been surprised and a little dismayed to find out, was just a kid, lost in an alien world. 

Maybe if he had objected louder, challenged the orders of his superiors at the DoD, challenged Robotnik himself, then the outcome would have been different. If only they’d never gone to Green Hills. The fact that the alien hadn’t come to any harm gave him some solace, however. 

Where adjacent mushroom caps met, there was often a pocket of soil and decayed matter that gave root to the few plants that were able to grow on the mushroom canopy. It was there that Robotnik buried pieces of the aircraft with the urgency of a man obsessed. Though, he had put so much personal labor into it. Stone supposed he understood why he didn’t want it to be seized by an alien force. The larger pieces, including the main body of the aircraft, were impossible to bury, so Stone and Robotnik gathered as many ferns and foliage as they could shift and covered it. 

Eventually, it looked… like a large object hidden under a bunch of brush. 

“There’s nothing more we can do, sir.” 

“You don’t get it, Stone. This technology was revolutionary. With the power supplied by the quill, I could reach heights that no one has ever reached before. I’m not just talking about rapid transportation, I’m talking about new horizons entirely. Weapons strikes that could be executed in seconds. Undetectable reconnaissance aircraft. Space travel. This is my legacy, and it’s sitting in a heap on an inconsequential world.” 

Robotnik stood with his shoulders back, a look of haughty disdain on his countenance against the reality of so much loss. Standing there, feeling useless, Stone didn’t know what to say. 

“You still have the blueprints…” Stone offered, lamely. 

Narrowing his eyes, Robotnik was about to respond, probably with something vicious judging by the sneer curling his lip, when he broke off, staring at something behind Stone’s shoulder.

Stone whipped around and saw an aircraft had dropped below the clouds and was fast approaching. His feeling of vindication - would Robotnik kill him if he said I told you so? - was quickly replaced with an unsettled knot in his gut. It was a large, fixed wing craft, and if they were on Earth he would have guessed cargo transport. 

“Well, double-oh-seven? Should we stay or go?” Robotnik’s voice was steady. 

“They’ve seen us already. There’s nowhere to go.”

“I guess that answers that.”

Standing side by side on the windswept canopy, they waited for the alien airplane to reach them. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Without you, there would be no medicine~

Several hundred yards away, the craft landed, and even Stone recognized that it was an incredible piece of engineering. It had lift fans set into each wing, allowing vertical take off and landing, a feat that was envied by humanity’s most proficient military engineers. The landing gear itself consisted of six adaptive robotic legs that bent to accommodate for the uneven surface of the mushroom canopy. Stone was surprised the canopy held its weight, considering his own near miss from several weeks ago, so it must be lighter than it looked.

He chanced a look at Robotnik, who was gazing at the machine with rapt fascination. It was truly a marvel. The best of both worlds, an aircraft capable of the high speed forward flight of a jet as well as the vertical capabilities of a helicopter. The USAF could only dream. 

A rear cargo ramp descended, and out came humanity’s second ever encounter with an alien species. 

These were no cute blue hedgehogs. 

Three aliens approached from the craft. Their build reminded Stone of a praying mantis, though they were about seven feet tall from the tips of their four rear legs to the top of their wedge shaped head. Gray chitinous plates covered their bodies, giving them a metallic appearance as if they were robots themselves, and Stone honestly didn’t know if he could tell the difference. Where an Earth mantis would have antennae, these beings had horns that descended in two ridges down their backs, giving them an overall spiny appearance. 

What concerned Stone the most were the guns on the tool belts each alien wore around their narrow insectoid waists. Maybe they should have booked it while they had the chance. 

Stone fingered the knife in his pocket, though he doubted it would do much good if it came to a fight. 

They fanned out around Stone and Robotnik, enclosing them in a triangle, tilting their heads to get a look at them from every direction out of bulbous compound eyes. Their mandibles clicked, and Stone could only assume they were talking to each other in a language no human mouth would ever be able to replicate. They remained at a respectful distance and did not make any aggressive movements, even though they had Stone and Robotnik surrounded. 

One of the aliens gestured to Stone with their raptorial forearm, and he could see each arm had three fingers that ended in thick black talons. Probably not vegetarians, then. The being said something to him in that clicking language. Stone didn’t move, unsure what action might be interpreted as a threat. 

“What? I’m sorry, I don’t speak alien…” 

Robotnik gave him a withering glance. “Good first contact words, Stone. This’ll be recorded in history, you know.” 

The mantis-like aliens conferred with each other, then one grabbed a device from their belt and held it up. The device had a rectangular black body with two long antennae, like a walkie talkie with a backlit touch screen, and the alien tapped a command into it before once again speaking to Stone and Robotnik.

Nothing happened immediately, and the alien gestured again. 

“What do you think they’re saying to us?” Stone asked.

“Would it be naive to hope for a ‘Live long and prosper’…?” 

“Sorry to be the pessimist here, but I don’t think Vulcans usually come with an arsenal.” 

To his surprise, the device emitted a series of clicks, just like the aliens were using. 

“It’s a translator!” Robotnik exclaimed, and the device chirped his words after a brief delay. 

The alien holding the translator spoke, and their voice came through in computerized English. “You are trespassing on the property of AgriCorp Industries. Identify yourselves and your purpose immediately.”

That sounded ominous. “We crashed here accidentally,” Stone explained. “We didn’t mean to trespass.” 

“Your vehicle is not capable of interstellar travel. You are in violation of Statute 504A of the General Kalmar assembly, which states that any unauthorized entry on privately-held land is punishable by law. Explain how you came to be on this planet.” 

“I told you, we crashed here accidentally. We didn’t intend to trespass.” 

Tapping the screen of the translator, the alien switched it off for a moment and conferred with the others in their own language. Stone took the opportunity to do the same.

“I’m getting bad vibes from these guys, doctor.” 

“That’s hardly a scientific way of looking at the situation. Who knows, maybe there’s a sympathetic heart under that aculeate exoskeleton.” 

“Do mantises have hearts?” 

Before Robotnik could respond, the alien turned the translator back on. “This land is owned and operated by AgriCorp Industries, and any trespass with criminal intent is strictly prohibited, as explained in the looped transmissions from our orbital communication relays. Any vessel approaching the planet would have received this information. So, I ask again, what is your purpose here?” 

“We didn’t come here to cause trouble,” Stone said. “We just want to get home.” He was wary of revealing their weakness - the fact that they had no weapons, no ship, and no knowledge of life outside Earth - to these beings who seemed predisposed to suspicion and hostility. A corporation that employed high tech military security was not something Stone wanted to cross, especially considering the fact that they really did have criminal intent. He wasn’t sure what kind of crops an agricultural business could grow on a mushroom infested planet, but if he and Robotnik had eaten any, that probably wouldn’t look good on a rap sheet either. 

“Who sent you?” The alien demanded. Those pincers snapped aggressively. 

“Nobody sent us. We arrived accidentally-”

“Can you pay for the produce you stole or should we add theft to the charges, too?” All three aliens took a step closer. 

“What produce?” Stone asked, shifting so he stood back to back with Robotnik. 

“Big mushroom,” the translator said, though the actual phrase uttered by the alien was so lengthy, it couldn’t be a direct translation. 

“You mean you’re growing this fungal garbage on purpose?” Robotnik growled. He reached back and touched Stone’s hand inconspicuously. 

“Our security systems have detected areas of unauthorized harvest. Come with us and you will be taken in for arraignment by our corporate law enforcement service.” 

He tensed, preparing for whatever Robotnik was about to do. This was not going to end well. “Corporate police? Sounds about right,” Stone muttered wryly, eyeing the gap between two aliens. They were probably faster. And they had more guns. What chance did Stone have to escape? 

“If you refuse to comply, you will be forcibly taken in for arrest.” 

“And what happens if we come willingly?” Stone questioned. 

“Then you will be charged and imprisoned for stealing from a company worth trillions of chips on the intergalactic market. You should have thought twice before taking on AgriCorp.” Was there a hint of smugness in the alien’s clicking speech? 

Without warning, Robotnik charged at the lead alien, hitting them square in the thorax shoulder-first. They were knocked back by the force of the blow, but having four legs instead of only two, recovered quickly enough to grab Robotnik before he could get away. Stone sprang into action, dodging a swipe from another alien before kicking at the spindly legs of the one that held Robotnik. It felt like kicking a tree trunk, all the shock radiated up Stone’s leg, and he tripped backwards, only to be grasped in thorny mantis arms. The gripping surface of their arms was rough and scraped Stone’s flesh like sandpaper. His clothing provided only moderate protection. The more he struggled, the more it hurt.

He lashed out wildly, striking the alien’s body again and again, but the thick plates of their exoskeleton absorbed the damage. Twisting around, Stone ignored the feeling of his own skin being rubbed raw and reached for the alien’s toolbelt, where he grabbed what looked like a gun. Luckily it was designed for creatures with dextrous fingers like his own, so he pointed the business end at his captor and began pressing buttons. Light flashed from the barrel and the alien reeled back with a hiss. Stone dropped and dodged out of the way. 

“Run!” Robotnik shouted, tearing free from the alien’s talons. 

Stone didn’t wait to be told twice. He sprinted after Robotnik, trying to put as much cover between themselves and the aliens as possible. There were plenty of tall mushrooms to block the line of fire, but the mantises chased them so quickly it didn’t even matter. Their legs clicked as they ran and they crossed the terrain at an unbelievable speed. 

A blazing heat hit Stone right between the shoulders, taking his breath away and knocking him flat on the ground. Only luck saved him from dropping his own blaster, though it was muscle memory from hours of training that allowed him to return fire, hardly able to see through the shock of pain. He heard a screech from one of the aliens, then Robotnik was hauling him to his feet and he ran faster than he’d ever run. 

Despite their head start, the aliens were catching up. Their long legs simply ate up the ground, and there was no escape, unless Stone was prepared for a fight to the death. There was no other option. 

Until Robotnik shouted, “Stone! Down!” 

He didn’t know what he meant, but Robotnik didn’t give him a chance to figure it out. The doctor tackled Stone and their combined momentum sent them both crashing over the side of a mushroom. Stone’s insides lurched and he couldn’t draw enough breath to scream. They were in free fall, but only for a second before they crashed onto the surface of a lower mushroom. There was a subsurface below the top level of the canopy and they crawled more than walked between the cap of one mushroom and the gills of the next. 

The aliens couldn’t fit through the narrow space, though they stood above, stabbing their legs down through whatever gaps they could find. They were right on top of Stone, tearing at the mushroom caps to reach him. Energy blasts pulverized the soft mushroom flesh and wet fragments flew through the air, raining down around Stone. 

Once again, Robotnik dragged him bodily over the edge and they fell several more yards before landing on another mushroom. Stone was still fighting the shock of the energy blast, and he couldn’t catch his breath. His vision was narrow and all he could see were the aliens aiming their guns down from the canopy. Light flashed, missing him narrowly. He fired back and hit mushroom, blowing a hole in the edge and forcing the aliens to scramble back or risk falling. 

“We can’t fight them!” Robotnik said.

There was no way forward. No more mushrooms on or below their level, only the bare stems reached up from the forest floor. There on that subsurface of the canopy, they were closer than they’d ever been to the ground, but it was still almost a two story drop. 

Another blast landed just to Stone’s right, ripping through the edge. Weakened, the tear extended towards the middle and Stone and Robotnik began to slide. If they could reach the central stem, they might be able to climb down, but it was a fruitless hope. The wedge shaped tear continued to deepen, and the aliens continued firing from above. Pock marks riddled the cap, which was quickly becoming too slippery to hold onto. 

Robotnik locked eyes with Stone. “Relax. It’s going to be okay,” he said, then the cap collapsed from the damage and they fell into darkness. 

They hit the ground scarcely more than a second later. Stone’s legs collapsed under him and he rolled to his side, fighting to stay conscious through a fresh wave of intense pain. He couldn’t think of anything except the white hot burn in his left leg; it drowned out every other sensation. 

“Get up! They’re still after us!” 

Rough hands grabbed Stone under the arms and set him running again, and he clenched his teeth and tried to force every thought out of his head other than  _ run _ . As they ran through the shadows of the forest floor, the aliens tracked them from the canopy above, occasionally shooting through gaps between mushrooms. Stone and Robotnik dodged between tall, thick trunks that were white like the ghosts of trees until finally they could hear no more shouted clicks and hisses from above. Instead, a new sound replaced the voices; the roar of engines and the deep, rapid  _ thwip-thwip _ of the VTOL rotor fans. The aircraft was hovering far above and the air currents from the fans set the canopy shaking. Mushrooms swayed and trunks creaked, the sound echoing in the hollow forest. 

Sliding down the edge of a deep ravine, Robotnik and Stone finally got out of the line of sight. There were thick white filaments of mycelium growing out from the rocky sides of the ravine, which provided helpful handholds on their way to the bottom. Every step hurt, and by the time they halted their descent, Stone was out of breath and shaking. 

The forest floor offered some measure of protection from the hostile alien ship overhead, and Stone and Robotnik clung to the shadows. There was a stream at the bottom of the ravine, and the cold running water was like a miracle elixir on Stone’s injured leg. He sat down on a rock with his feet in water up to ankles, unable to continue any further. 

The noise of the plane faded, and Robotnik stood and watched until he could no longer catch glimpses of it through the canopy. 

It was dark. Very little sunlight filtered through the thick covering of mushroom caps, and as far as Stone could see, no plants grew. The surface of the planet consisted of black dirt and rocks, and here and there mycelium threaded up through the ground in between the trunks of each towering mushroom. Silence weighed down upon the understory. No wind blew. Even the flow of the little stream over the rocks sounded subdued. 

It was like nothing so much as a spirit wood. 

“Aban?” Robotnik whispered. 

“I think - I think I hurt my ankle.”

“When we fell? I told you to relax!” he hissed. “You’re much more likely to survive a fall if you’re relaxed because the acceleration occurs over a longer period of time, reducing the force experienced by the body. This is basic physics.”

“Jesus Christ. I’m sorry, I forgot to solve for momentum in the  _ one second _ it took to hit the ground.” 

“You should have said something right away.” Crouching on a dry patch against the side of the ravine, Robotnik began to untie Stone’s shoe. 

“I’m sorry.”

He peeled off Stone’s wet sock and set it aside. “I need you at the top of your game. This is it. The touchdown inning or whatever. The evil alien mega corporation knows we’re here, trespassing and pilfering their shitty mushrooms, and now we have to escape before they find us again or they’ll kill us.” 

“I’m sor-”

“Stop saying you’re sorry!” Robotnik growled. His hands were cold where they held Stone’s ankle. 

“Is it broken?” It felt that way to Stone. A dull throb pulsed beneath the swollen joint. 

“I don’t know, I’m not a medical doctor. Does it hurt when I do this?”

Stone yelped, screwing his eyes shut against a burst of pain. “Yes!” 

“We can’t stay here long,” Robotnik said, his voice suddenly quiet. “Remember what we heard…”

Of course Stone remembered. The growls and heavy thuds of unknown, unseen beasts fighting on the forest floor. The night they had lain awake in silent terror, afraid of the monsters in the dark. They had thought the height of the canopy would protect them, and now they didn’t even have that. 

If they could climb back up to the canopy, would that truly be the better option? Corporate security was hunting for them, and they had superior technology. In fact, it was probably only a matter of time before the aliens returned with a vehicle that could drive along the forest floor. 

If they stayed put, they were dead at least two ways. 

“Maybe if you kiss it, it’ll make everything all better,” Stone said with a wry smile. 

His eyes shot open in surprise as Robotnik actually pressed his lips to the thin skin over his ankle. His hands and lips were cool compared to the throbbing heat, and everywhere he kissed - his ankle, the top of his foot, the side of the arch - felt just a little bit less painful. Robotnik’s feather-light touch was soothing in a way that was more than physical. Gently, he placed Stone’s foot back in the cold water.

Stone looked down at Robotnik, who was busy trailing his fingers over the surface of the stream, not meeting his eyes. His racing heart began to slow. After the adrenaline surge of the fight through the canopy, after the shocking pain of twisting his ankle, now all that was left was a quiet intensity. They could have died. All of a sudden, the time seemed short. 

“Ivo, I should tell you something,” Stone began. “I should have told you a long time ago. I lo-”

“No,” Robotnik interrupted. 

Stone bristled, the fatigue and the pain making him instantly pissed off. “What? You don’t know what I-”

“Yes I do. I can read you like a book, Stone. Don’t say it.” 

“I’m trying to tell you-” 

“Just stop.” Robotnik waved a hand, as if matters of the heart could be so easily dismissed. His expression was hardened. And to think, just seconds before, Stone had thought they were sharing an intimate moment.

Yeah. The day Robotnik let a moment pass without being a jackass was the day Stone would enter the lottery.

“You might think you know everything,  _ doctor _ , but let me tell you, you have the emotional intelligence of-” 

“Give me a break. Emotional intelligence is a made up term with an unsubstantiated theoretical foundation. Talk to me about something real or don’t bother speaking.”

“Of all the obnoxious…” If Stone had been able to stand up, he would have pushed Robotnik face first into the stream. “Every time I think you might show a shred a human decency, you manage to surprise me with some new-”

“Don’t fly off the handle, Stone. All I meant was-”

“Yeah, I know exactly what you meant; the great Ivo Robotnik, PhD, the man who replaced his emotions with computer code-”

“You didn’t let me finish-”

“What more could you possibly have to say? Is my ritual humiliation not complete enough for you? I’m sitting here in a ditch with a broken ankle and a broken heart-”

“You’re being melodramatic. If you would let me speak-”

“I’ve heard enough, and if you think-”

“Stop talking!” Robotnik ordered. Surging forward, he grabbed Stone by the shirt and kissed him on the mouth. Stone recoiled in anger for about half a second, before he realized what was happening. Then he wrapped Robotnik in an embrace and kissed him back, feeling as if he were once again falling from a great height and the other man was his only chance for salvation. Robotnik clutched him just as fiercely; fingers tightened on the collar of his shirt, nearly strangling him. 

The kiss was heated and desperate. Their teeth clicked together and his neck was bent at an awkward angle but he needed this like he needed water. He came alive at Robotnik’s touch, there was safety in holding onto him, and survival in the taste of his lips. 

Robotnik was leaning over him, and as he stepped closer, he shifted Stone’s injured leg. A burst of pain ricocheted up his limb and he flinched, breaking the kiss, breaking the spell. A whirlwind of emotion raged inside Stone’s heart, and he had no idea what to feel. Embarrassment and exhilaration and love and longing... He wanted to kiss him again. He wanted to run away. He wanted to know what the  _ hell _ was going on inside that man’s head. 

Instead of asking - where to even begin? - he looked down at the water flowing over Robotnik’s boots, washing away layers of mud and pulverized mushroom. Was there still some Earth soil clinging to the bottom of his shoes, underneath all the alien dirt? 

Cupping his jaw with one hand, Robotnik turned Stone’s face up, though Stone continued to avoid his gaze, afraid of what he might see. The doctor had rejected his declaration of love before he’d even been able to finish saying it. But then, Robotnik had kissed him, and now his thumb brushed the side of his cheek so gently. 

“You’re giving me some mixed signals here…” Stone said stiffly. 

Then, Robotnik finally said those three words that every lovesick simpleton craved from the object of their affections.

“For fuck’s sake.” Ah, how it warmed Stone’s heart. “Would you look at me?”

Stone met Robotnik’s eyes, and saw his customary annoyance and frustration in the slight frown, the furrowed brow. How could his eyes be so beautiful when his expression was so cold? 

“I’m not giving you mixed signals, you’re just not paying attention.”

Taking offense, Stone opened his mouth to argue but Robotnik stopped him by putting a finger over his lips. 

“Just. Listen. I don’t know how to articulate what I feel about you. When I look at you, it’s like... cognition just stops and I can’t say all the things you deserve to hear. The words won’t come because what I feel is inexpressible.” Robotnik ground his teeth, and his veneer of irritation began to slip. His eyes softened as Stone gazed up at him. 

“This sort of thing doesn’t come naturally-”

Stone interrupted. “Usually people just say ‘I lo-’”

“No! Aban, I’m asking you not to say it now. Not here. Wait. Wait until we’re home and safe and no one’s trying to kill us, where I can hold you under a goddamn cherry blossom tree by the river, so I can finally  _ say it back to you _ .” 

Only Robotnik could make a declaration of love sound so exasperated. He looked as if his feelings were a major inconvenience, though Stone thought that just maybe his surliness was simply a defense against vulnerability. Beneath his brusque exterior, he felt with a passion that Stone had previously only seen in his work. But the revelation that Stone himself was on the receiving end of that passion… 

Stone wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with Robotnik. The sooner they got back to Earth, the better. 

He shifted on the rock, giving Robotnik space to sit down next to him. The doctor curled up in Stone’s arms and laid his head on his shoulder, and everything felt right for a brief moment. Stone could forget the fears that abounded, those that lurked on the forest floor and others that threatened to rain down from the militarized airspace above their heads. With the promise that Robotnik would finally say those words back, Stone felt more determined than ever to make it home safely. Purpose filled him, along with hope: the very real hope of success. It was something he hadn’t felt in nearly two months. 

Wrapping his arms tighter around Robotnik, he embraced the possibility of a future. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I fear that you will vanish with the morning mist as mysteriously as you appeared~

They found a dry pocket at the side of the ravine and settled in for the night. It was perhaps the most uncomfortable sleep Stone had ever had. Rocks dug into his back and he found himself missing the cushioned surface of the canopy - though it was nothing like his bed back home, it was worlds better than this damp hole in the ground. The cold, hard surface made his leg ache.

However, he came to the conclusion that his leg wasn’t broken, based only on the memory of when he had broken his wrist as a kid. Back then, it had hurt so much he could hardly breathe; he could do nothing but cry silently while his family drove him to the hospital. Now, it only hurt when he put weight on it, or moved... or thought about it for too long. So, probably just a sprain, right?

He shook Robotnik awake when he saw the first glimpse of light cutting through the canopy and they prepared to leave. 

“The plane came in from the north,” Stone said, “so I think we should go that way. Maybe we can find their base of operations.” 

“They could be hundreds of miles away. Are you up for it?” 

Stone avoided the question, as they didn’t really have a choice. “We better get started.” 

Taking the backpack, Robotnik helped Stone clamber up the side of the ravine, which ran roughly north-south as far as they could see. Which wasn’t actually very far; it was dark under the mushroom canopy. And humid. Light trickled through in patches, leaving most of the forest floor shrouded in shadows and morning mist. More than ever, the mushroom stems looked like the pale, ghostly trunks of aspens, though without the beautiful foliage. 

As they walked, their feet made no sound in the soft soil. Stone could hear nothing except his own breathing and the faint rustle of their clothing, which he made an effort to stifle as they went on. The quiet seemed to close around him. He kept picturing monsters appearing through the mist, baring deadly fangs and drooling with hunger for human flesh. 

They went down a steep slope and the ravine finally flattened out, though the stream curved away soon after. Stone felt like he had lost a friend as they continued north. The water had been clear and cold and soothing to all his aches and pains, but more importantly, following the stream felt like following a guide. As if they were going somewhere instead of wandering aimlessly. 

How long had they been traveling? Stone began to feel like they were simply walking in place. One segment of the mushroom forest looked exactly like another. Identical straight white trunks rose from the dirt, each one several feet away from its neighbors. There was so much open space under the canopy, it should have been easy to walk in a straight line, but every few minutes, Robotnik had to check his compass and correct their course. 

Stone found it hard to pay attention, and his mind felt curiously blank. Was this even real? Was it really him walking on the dirt floor of that alien planet? Was he walking to a specific place or was he just walking endlessly through a dark purgatory, punishment for sins he didn’t even remember committing? It seemed like he was watching himself from a distance, and what he saw barely piqued his interest. Hours passed, and he observed two figures trudging through the dark forest, their images flickering like old film. 

He came back to himself only when Robotnik grabbed him by the elbow and physically stopped him from walking. 

“Are you hearing me, Stone? What’s with you?” 

“Sorry, sir,” he blinked, using the pain in his leg as an anchor to reality. “I was lost in thought.”

Robotnik looked at him, pressing his lips together in a thin line. “I said we can rest if you want.”

“Yeah, that… that’d be good.” 

They sat down and ate fruit from Robotnik’s pack. Stone’s foot was hurting and he wanted to take his shoe off, but knew that it was probably providing at least some measure of compression to the injured area. He rolled his sock down to take a look. There was a dark bruise like a half moon under the thin brown skin of his ankle. The whole area was painful and swollen. It throbbed in the humid air, and the pain seemed to reach from the tips of his toes up past his knee. And his other leg was starting to get cramped from his awkward limp. 

He laid down in the dirt and threw one arm over his eyes. The aliens would still be there if they took a few days to rest, right? Maybe they could find a nice shelter beneath the tangled mass of mycelium at the base of a mushroom and camp out for a while, just sleep and recover. 

But he didn’t want to stay any longer than they had to. They had to get home. Despite the pain and exhaustion, they had to push on. Before he became consumed with apathy. Before his body became a hollow shell for a suppressed consciousness. 

“Oh! I completely forgot!” Robotnik exclaimed, and his voice was loud in the utter silence of the forest floor. Stone flinched. Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, Robotnik brought out a small rectangular device with two antennae. 

“The translator?” Stone sat up and reached out his hand. It had the approximate size and weight of a smartphone, and when he tapped the screen, it lit up. An alien script appeared, black text against a sepia background. The symbols consisted of short line segments that crossed in various ways, with one or two dots in the spaces between the lines. He didn’t know which way was up, but he selected a phrase anyway.

“No, don’t change the settings!” Robotnik hissed. 

The translator spoke aloud in the clicking sounds of the mantis-aliens’ language. 

“How did it figure out English, I wonder?” Stone asked. 

“Using a highly sophisticated software, I’d imagine. With a sufficient database of alien languages, you could conceivably design a program that can detect meaning from phonemic patterns.”

Stone raised his eyebrow at Robotnik. The translator continued talking in the background.

“Okay, or it’s telepathic, how should I know?” 

“Do you think it can do other languages?” There was a little symbol that looked like reverse arrows, so Stone pressed it, hoping he didn’t mess anything up irrevocably. 

“Let me see... _I no naka no kawazu, taikai wo sirazu,"_ Robotnik said.

After a moment, the translator sprung into life, and it turned out Stone’s guess was correct. It was translated into English. ‘There is a frog in the well.’ 

“No, that’s… not what it means,” Robotnik grumbled. “I guess it can’t do idioms. Well, try not to change the settings again and maybe we can listen in when we catch up to the aliens.”

“How did you get this?” Stone pressed a button between the antennae and the screen went dark. 

“Nabbed it during the fight.” 

“Proud of you, sir,” Stone smiled, and handed the device back so Robotnik could put it in his pocket. 

As they continued onward, Stone took stock of their assets. They had the translator, which was now the most valuable piece of equipment that either of them carried. It could allow them to eavesdrop, to gather intelligence about the operations of this alien industry. Perhaps they could ask for help, if they managed to find someone sympathetic to their plight, as opposed to the security officers who were all too ready to stick them in the slammer. 

They also had the blaster that Stone had stolen during the struggle. All in all, it had been a very successful encounter. Stone wouldn’t say they had come out on top, exactly, but at least they had more tools than when they started. If there were dangerous animals on the forest floor, the blaster would be a better defense than their little pocket knife. 

Sonic’s quill was another helpful item, though without the materials to build any complex machines, there was little they could use it for at the moment. At least they could still boil water. And there were plenty of puddles, ponds, and narrow streams crossing their path as they walked along. 

Unfortunately, they were running out of food. Robotnik had stuffed his pack full of mushrooms and fruit, but with all his scrap metal and electronic components, there wasn’t actually that much room left over. Stone kept his eyes out for wild plants as they walked, but other than the towering, fifty foot tall mushrooms, nothing else grew. The mushroom caps blocked so much sunlight, life on the forest floor was inhibited. 

With careful conservation of their rations, they managed to last several days before their food finally ran out. 

“Here. You have it,” Stone said, passing the last, little yellow berry to Robotnik, who shook his head and refused to take it.

“No. You need to eat so your leg can heal.”

With a dry laugh, Stone argued, “It’s not going to make a difference. Here, just eat it so I can feel like I’ve done something useful.”

“No.”

“Eat the berry.”

“No!” Robotnik grinned, turning his face away as Stone shoved the fruit at him. 

“Alright, I’ll cut it in half, then will you eat it?” 

Half a berry made a meal that was about the size of a nickel, and it made Stone more hungry than he had been a minute ago. He fed the other half to Robotnik, who grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. 

“What a revolting display of domesticity,” Robotnik murmured, though he continued holding Stone’s hand. 

“Mm. How will you ever regain your pride?” 

Stone laid his head on Robotnik’s shoulder. The shadows deepened as night fell, and despite the light of two full moons, visibility was at its lowest. Even if they had the energy to continue, it was useless to try to push on in complete darkness. Though they didn’t have to worry anymore about falling off the canopy, progress would certainly be impeded by walking face first into a mushroom every few feet, as they had discovered a few nights ago. 

On Earth, night was soothing. Stone loved to lie awake and listen to the soft sounds of the city outside his window. He especially loved when it rained, the sound of droplets pattering on the concrete, the streets glistening in the amber glow of streetlights. Insects would chirp softly at the river’s edge, and on those nights when he couldn’t sleep, he would sit for hours by the Potomac, just listening to the water lap the shore. Nighttime in the city was a comfort.

Such was not the case on that alien planet. There were no dim streetlights, no night birds, no buzz of insects, no burbling water. Instead, there was silence so profound that Stone could hear his own heartbeat. He could hear Robotnik’s breathing, thin and shallow as he slept uneasily. He couldn’t see, and instead of feeling protected by the blanket of darkness, he felt exposed, as if there were beasts all around him. 

Oh, how he hated to be proved right. 

It wasn’t a sound so much as a vibration that alerted him. Stone tensed, instinctively freezing in place. Beside him, Robotnik startled awake and felt for Stone’s hand, though he didn’t make a noise. 

_ Listen _ . 

There was nothing to hear. 

But the hair on the back of Stone’s neck stood up and a chill ran down his spine. He sat up slowly, and the sound of his clothes rustling was like an alarm going off. 

Something was out there, he was more sure of that fact than anything else in his life. It was coming closer. It was hungry. He tapped Robotnik on the shoulder and they both got to their feet in a crouch, ready to bolt. But what could they do? They couldn’t see. They were as likely to get separated in the dark as they were to run right into a ditch. 

Stone’s heart pounded in his throat and he couldn’t draw enough breath. 

Where was it? 

Another vibration shook the ground. A heavy pawstep, the sound absorbed by the soil. Stone became aware of breathing that wasn’t his, and wasn’t Robotnik’s. Slow, even breaths from a creature that wasn’t afraid of the dark. 

The smell hit him then, the smell of rot. Of decay. He choked on the humid stench, thick enough that he could taste it, it coated his tongue as if he himself were beginning to decompose from the inside out. 

It was right in front of him. 

“Run!” Stone yelled in desperation, grabbing Robotnik’s hand and tearing off in a random direction. The pain in his leg disappeared in favor of sheer terror and there was no thought in his head other than  _ run away _ . 

Finally, the beast made a sound. A wet snarl, as if drool were already dripping from its mouth, then the dull thuds of paws hitting the dirt. It was only  _ feet _ behind them, and Stone didn’t know if the hot breath he felt on his neck was real or imagined. He didn’t care to find out. 

Running blind, they managed to stay together until Stone crashed into something solid. His bones rattled with the impact and he lost his grip on Robotnik, but he didn’t let it stop him. He dodged around the mushroom trunk and followed the sound of Robotnik’s footsteps. Behind them, the beast hesitated like a fox who wasn’t sure which rabbit to chase, and its moment of confusion probably saved their lives. 

Stone pelted after Robotnik, not caring if he crashed again, if only he could escape the sound of snapping teeth. 

The beast growled in frustration.

They couldn’t keep running forever. 

Without warning, the ground dropped out from under Stone’s feet and he lost his balance. At his side, he heard Robotnik gasp as the breath was knocked out of him and they began to slide down a rocky hill, their momentum carrying them all the way to the bottom. The creature followed at their heels, talons clicking on the rocks as it leapt down the slope. 

Stone finally hit the ground, and could do nothing for a moment but lie there, winded, and listen to the creature attack. There was the slam of an impact, and then Robotnik was shouting without words. Blind, Stone crawled towards the sound, dragging the blaster out of his belt, but he couldn’t fire, he couldn’t risk hitting Robotnik. 

Something ripped, and the creature roared as Robotnik scrambled away. An eerie blue glow arose from the middle of the fray - Sonic’s quill! The backpack had torn in the creature’s jaws, its contents spilling out onto the dirt, and in the dim light, Stone could finally see the horror that pursued them.

It came in pieces. Everything was moving so fast, he couldn’t make out any clear details, but as Robotnik ducked out the way, Stone perceived a skeletal body covered in short black fur, so dark it almost blended in with the soil. It was huge, like a draft horse, but it seemed to have too many legs. Talons flashed in the blue light, so long and thin that Stone had no doubt they could slice between his ribs and pierce his heart. 

Robotnik screamed as claws sunk into his arm and he sank to his knees. The creature loomed over him, and Stone wasn’t entirely sure what he was seeing. Its mouth opened, unfolding like a flower with vicious teeth and steaming drool. The bifurcated lower jaw split as if it were about to swallow the doctor whole.

Stone took aim and fired, and the resulting blast of energy blinded Stone after so long in total darkness. The monster roared and paused only for a moment, but it was long enough for Robotnik to grab his knife. Stone kept firing, aiming more by sound than sight as the bright flashes were disorienting and the scene was too awful to look at. 

Heavy paws slammed into Stone and he hit the ground with the full weight of the creature pinning him down. The blaster went spinning out of his hands, claws pierced his flesh, and he screamed. That mouth, that horrible chasm of teeth which opened unnaturally wide hovered over him and he could feel the heat of its breath on his face. He screamed until he couldn’t anymore and those monstrous jaws began to close around him. 

Then Robotnik was there and liquid splashed over Stone, so hot he thought it might burn and the beast roared in pain. Robotnik was stabbing it over and over again and it rolled off Stone, losing its balance as it tried to get away, but all its legs weren’t enough to escape as the doctor cut its throat. A gush of blood poured onto the forest floor, splattering Robotnik, who kept lashing out with the knife. The metallic scent of it was overwhelming. Stone’s guts twisted and he tried not to vomit as the wet sound of the knife continued.

“Stop!” Stone cried out, his voice weak. “It’s dead, you can stop. Doctor, please.” 

Robotnik fell back as if his strings had been cut, and he sat in the dirt, shaking. He was covered in blood that glinted dully, black in the dim blue light. 

The body of the creature lay beside them, and Stone could hardly bring himself to look at the confusing mess of flayed tissue and tangled legs. It was bony. Skeletal. How could it have so much blood? 

It hadn’t even been dead a minute, but already it smelled like a decomposing corpse, like a murder victim left behind in a damp basement, food for the mice and maggots. Stone turned onto his side and vomited bile, his stomach cramping when there was nothing left to bring up. 

The monster had no eyes.

Over the sound of his own ragged breathing, he became aware of Robotnik muttering something. He sat with his head in his hands, repeating a phrase too low for Stone to hear. 

Despite the blood and gore, Stone crawled over to him and embraced him, and immediately the doctor curled into his chest, shaking with silent tears. 

“We have to get home, we have to get home, we have to get home,” he whispered. 

He smelled like death, and everywhere Stone touched him, he was sticky with blood. 

“Shh,” Stone said, rubbing his back, trying to comfort him even though it was useless. Robotnik kept repeating the same words. Maybe he didn’t know he was speaking aloud. 

“Doctor. Look at me.” 

Robotnik cut off mid sentence as he looked up at Stone. His face looked gaunt in the unearthly light, like a mask that didn’t quite fit. Dark droplets were spattered across his cheek, and Stone couldn’t tell if the streaks were blood or tears. He had never seen that look in the doctor’s eyes before. Such raw terror. That more than anything else made Stone feel as if the world was upside down. 

“We are going to get home, I promise you,” he said with a conviction he didn’t feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: A frog in a well never knows the vast ocean. 
> 
> It's an idiom I found on google; I don't speak Japanese, so hopefully I got it right!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Won’t you stay and breathe in the moonlit air?~

In the blue light, Stone watched as gauzy white filaments grew around the corpse, and soon it appeared as if a light frost had settled upon its fur. The mycelium was absorbing the monster, returning it to the dust and the darkness from which it had sprung. Part of Stone wanted to stay and watch until the body of their enemy decomposed entirely, so he would know beyond a doubt that it couldn’t attack again, but a bigger part feared that if they stayed still, they too would be overtaken by the mycelium. 

They continued on after scavenging what they could from the shredded backpack. The blaster, the knife, the translator, the quill. Everything else they had to leave behind. 

The quill provided enough light so they didn’t crash into any more mushroom trunks or fall down any more hills, but it made Stone feel like they were traveling in a bubble. Darkness surrounded them on all sides, so complete he thought he could reach out and touch it. There were monsters out there, threats too terrible to comprehend. 

But they had survived once. 

He didn’t want to have to try again, he was sick of fighting for his life. Stone  _ hurt _ , in every part of his body, down to his very bones. His leg constantly burned, and he worried about the damage he was doing by continuing to walk, but there was no other option. Hunger gnawed at him like a pit, but there was no food. The scratches from the creature stung, and were probably covered in dirt and bacteria. With a pang of regret, Stone thought of the first aid kit they had left behind, but it was mostly empty by then anyway. 

Their situation was really quite simple. Either they would get home soon, or they would die. Stone hoped for the former, but, if he was being honest... consumed by mycelium sounded like a peaceful enough way to go. Anything to have a break from the pain. 

They walked through the dark for what seemed like hours. 

Up ahead, something looked different, and Stone couldn’t make out what he was seeing. There was a faint gray light, steadily increasing in intensity as the minutes passed, but it was blank, as if the forest was hidden in a fog. But that wasn’t quite right. As the light grew, he could see the mushrooms all around him, except for straight ahead. It was almost like…

“Ivo, look!” He grabbed his hand and broke into a run, and despite the hurt, despite the deep-seated exhaustion, his heart pounded with excitement. He ran on his injured leg toward the most beautiful sight he had seen in days. 

Breaking out of the forest, they came to a halt and observed what the morning light revealed. 

Set in a wide, flat plain that stretched as far as they could see was a massive complex surrounded by a razor wire fence. Stone walked up to the edge of the fence, careful not to touch it in case it was electrified. Across a wide concrete airfield, he could see buildings, aircraft, vehicles,  _ people _ . There were people walking around, loading boxes into trucks, performing fuel and flight checks, directing planes toward the runways that ran the length of the complex on the east and west. It looked like an airport, or perhaps a shipping center, starting up its first operations of the day. 

It was a miniature city of stone and asphalt. In the center, there was a cluster of large buildings connected by sidewalks and skyways, and in between were swaths of freshly cut grass and green plants. The central hub, a horseshoe shaped building, lay between the two runways which were connected by taxiways, and aircraft loading zones, which bustled with activity as workers came out to inspect and start up the equipment. It was a scene that was all too familiar to Stone, who had spent his training days at a military base. 

Back on Earth, he had never seen aircraft that looked as sophisticated as those that were now before him. 

Stone wasn’t as familiar with farming equipment, but some of the machines reminded him of the big harvesting ones - combines? They had the big front pieces that scooped up the crops, but they also had rotors for fly-by harvesting. Everything had to be airborne when the crops grew up in the canopy. There were other aircraft; Stone spotted a row of jets that looked like the one they had seen days ago, and one with inset lift fans that could have been the same one the security team had flown when they tried to apprehend Stone and Robotnik. 

They were too far away from the center of activity to see any more fine details, but Stone could make out a wide variety of alien morphologies. A tall, gray mantis-like alien wearing a reflective vest climbed into a truck and drove off, following a road that led east into the forest. Others that were humanoid in form but covered in brindled fur directed a small biplane towards a hangar at the north end. Still others, a small being with iridescent wings who hovered several feet off the ground next to a four-legged hoofed person, appeared to be overseeing the morning’s activities. At least, Stone assumed they were overseeing. They were the only ones standing still. They were also, he noticed, holding steaming cups of what just might be coffee. Was there coffee on this planet? Dear god, he wanted coffee. 

“Well, Slylock? What’s our play here?” Robotnik asked. 

Stone didn’t know how to answer. ‘Steal a spaceship’ was much easier said than done, so he didn’t bother saying it out loud. First they had to figure out which of the many technologically advanced craft sitting in the yard was capable of space flight, then they needed to learn to pilot an alien ship, locate Earth, and get home without getting lost or running into some cosmic anomaly… No, first they needed to get into the airfield without being captured and arrested. He wondered if their alien appearance would get them clocked immediately, or if there were aliens who looked like humans, so they could just blend in with the workers and pretend they belonged while they searched for information. If  _ Star Trek _ was any indicator, all they needed was a big hat to cover their ears and no one would look twice. Or maybe that only worked for Vulcans. 

“We need to know more before we do anything,” Stone began. “I think we should get into the main building there, find a spot to lie low, and just listen and observe.” 

“How do we get in?” 

Examining the area with a critical eye, Stone found himself at a loss. Beyond the fence, the land surrounding the complex was flat and empty, except for the closely trimmed green grass. The mushroom forest ended about 200 yards before the runways even started, and the central hub was even farther away than that. That was a lot of open space to walk through, countless opportunities to be seen. 

But if they just waltzed in like they were supposed to be there, no one would question them, right? It was a farm, how advanced could their security be? The complex was huge, and there were lots of aliens walking around, and even at that distance, Stone could see a wide diversity of body shapes. They could hide in plain sight.

“We could climb the fence?” Stone offered tentatively.

Robotnik looked at him askance. “Don’t you think they have security measures in place? Cameras? Guards? Laser security grids with infrared motion sensors?” 

“Laser grids, are you kidding? You don’t even have lasers at your top secret lab!”

“Only because the DoD wouldn’t approve the funding,” Robotnik grumbled. 

“If I know anything about security - and it’s my job to know, by the way - then I bet they concentrate their efforts on points of entry and exit. The corporation owns the whole planet, right? So, their tightest security and defense systems would be in orbit to prevent unauthorized spaceships from approaching the planet in the first place. We’ve already made it past the hardest part.”

“You’re forgetting that they already know we’re trespassing on the planet. They’ll probably be on lookout.”

The thought had occurred to Stone, but he was trying to keep a positive attitude. They were so close, he could almost taste Earth air on his tongue. They couldn’t fail.

He sat at the base of a mushroom at the edge of the forest and observed. Planes and trucks were just starting to head out to collect the day’s harvest, and they probably wouldn’t return until the job was done. That could be their ticket in; if they could hitch a ride on a flatbed, they could enter the complex without setting off any alarms. The ground vehicles funneled out through a single access road that led to the east, so Stone suggested they head that way and wait for an opportunity. 

It was a fair hike to make it to the eastern edge of the complex from where they had first emerged into the field. Trying to stay out of sight, they stuck to the shadows inside the forest, hugging the edge of the fence until they reached the road. 

Running north to south well within the boundary of the forest, a little river bisected the road, bubbling under a concrete bridge. To Stone, it sounded like music, and he crossed over to the water without hesitation. His skin felt tight and itchy with dried blood.

Not a word needed to be said to Robotnik, who hurried after him. There was a bend where the river took a deeper path into the forest, taking it out of sight of both the main complex and the road, so they followed it for a while until they felt secure in their isolation. 

Stone stripped to his boxers and waded in, feeling instant relief as the cool water washed away the dirt and blood that was caked on him. Robotnik followed suit, making a rather grotesque sight as the gore covering most of his body stained the water reddish-brown. He scrubbed at his hands, dried blood flaking off his skin and swirling away downstream.

As the grime was rinsed away, the true damage was revealed. The monster had torn jagged wounds in Robotnik’s arms and upper back, and the cuts were red and irritated around the edges. If only they had antiseptic, or soap, or goddamn grain alcohol, Stone wasn’t picky, if only he could do something to clean Robotnik’s wounds. 

Add that to the list of ways to die: falling to their deaths, cut to shreds by moss, monster attack, and now alien  _ Staph aureus _ . 

Things had looked better. 

Stone sat at the edge of the river and rinsed their clothes; Stone’s jacket, which Robotnik had been wearing, was torn up and soaked in blood. No matter how much he wrung it out, it never ran clear, it was almost like the coat itself was bleeding. He tried not to think too deeply about it as he laid everything out to dry in the weak sunlight filtering through the canopy. 

He figured they had some time before the trucks started to roll back in, so Stone sat in a cozy pocket under a mushroom and rested. He watched Robotnik duck his head under water and resurface, running fingers through his short cropped hair until it was clean. The close shave resembled a military haircut, giving his face a more severe appearance than Stone was used to. The man was a rebel, and the high and tight didn’t really suit him. Too bad Stone hadn’t learned to cut hair at the Farm; he’d been trained in plenty of other useless skills. Still, he had done his best, and it was a hell of a lot better than a head full of tangled hair and thorns. 

Robotnik waded out of the water, rubbing at the faded scars under his pectorals.

“Hurts sometimes in the cold,” he explained when he noticed Stone looking. “Move.”

Stone shifted to make room for Robotnik who sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. His body was cool from the river, providing a nice balance to the humidity within the forest. Stone curled up into Robotnik’s side, resting his head on his shoulder, and finally let the wave of exhaustion overcome him. He only intended to nap for a few moments.

When he woke up, the sun was well on its way below the horizon. Beside him, Robotnik was sprawled out on the forest floor, fast asleep with one arm slung over his eyes. He made a very handsome sight, which Stone paused to appreciate. This was as naked as he’d ever seen the doctor. 

A strange mixture of warmth and grief whirlpooled within Stone. He was gratified by the trust implicit in Robotnik’s actions. He was comfortable enough to strip and fall asleep next to Stone, even when they were lost in an alien woods. How far they had come since their first day on this forsaken planet.

But at the same time, his body was battered, a physical reminder of their hardships. Robotnik had always been lean, but at some point he had crossed the line into skinny. It was no wonder they were both exhausted all the time; they were slowly starving to death. At least up in the canopy they’d had reliable access to food, even if it was mostly mushrooms, but it had been several days since they’d fallen. Stone had lost count. 

He just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

“Do you like what you see, Agent?” Robotnik murmured, sitting up on his elbows and stretching his arms. 

Stone hadn’t realized he was awake, and his face flushed. “Very much, sir.” 

“Come here.” 

Robotnik cupped his jaw and kissed him, nothing more than a chaste brush of lips, as if they had all the time in the world for such things. His expression was solemn. The things that mattered most, Robotnik did with austere intention, and this was no different. Stone felt the weight of his gaze, a grounding force. Robotnik trailed the backs of his fingers down Stone’s cheek, ending the motion by tracing his lips with his thumb. 

Stone wrapped his arms around his shoulders, carefully, conscious of his injuries, and rested their foreheads together. He was too important to ever let go. He would hold onto him, to this moment, for as long as he lived. 

Somewhere in the forest, a bird squawked an alarm, breaking them out of their intimate bubble. Stone looked over his shoulder in the direction of the road, and the far-away sound of rumbling tires carried through the quiet air. The first harvest truck of the evening was returning.

“Saddle up,” Robotnik said, and they jumped to put on their clothes, which were still slightly damp even after drying all day. They weren’t exactly kitted out for espionage and infiltration. Robotnik donned Stone’s jacket again; there was nothing they could do about his unfortunate bright red pants, but at least they hid the blood stains. 

They proceeded towards the road, keeping out of sight behind the wide mushroom trunks. Tires humming over the blacktop, the truck finally appeared. It was a big vehicle that resembled a pickup back on Earth. The bed was open at the top and enclosed on the sides by a wire frame, within which sat stacks of slatted wooden boxes, each filled to the brim with mushrooms. 

Stone’s stomach growled, but he couldn’t think about food now. They had one chance to get on the truck without being seen, and it was fast approaching. 

“As soon as it passes, run out behind and jump onto the frame,” Stone ordered. 

Peering around the edge of a trunk, they waited until the truck was right alongside, then they rushed into the road and grabbed the back of the bed as it zipped by. Stone’s arms were nearly yanked out of their sockets, and he struggled to hang on before finding his footing on the rear bumper. Rattling under their weight, the wire frame cut into Stone’s fingers, but it was sturdy. 

Stacks of crates blocked them from the sight of the driver. If they had been seen during the jump, there was no indication. 

Stone hauled himself into the truck bed, squeezing into the narrow space between the last stack of boxes and the frame. “Dump the mushrooms and get in a box,” he hissed, tipping one of the heavy crates and setting produce bouncing on the road in the truck’s tail lights. It was a precarious situation; the boxes were stacked right up to the lip of the frame, and if they hit a bump at the wrong time, they could fall over the edge. 

With a dubious look, Robotnik folded himself into the box. Stone shoveled mushrooms on top of him and packed them into the sides, hoping that it would be an effective camouflage, as long as no one looked too hard. His freaking  _ red pants _ were visible through the slats.

Maybe the aliens were color blind. 

Stone closed the lid on Robotnik, emptied another box, and climbed in. It was cramped, and even curled into a tight ball, he barely fit. 

The truck needed its suspension checked, because even though the road was flat and well-maintained, the constant jostling sent spikes of pain through Stone’s injured leg. This was near to the worst situation he could imagine; stuffed into a box, covered in mushrooms, heading into the heart of an alien mega-corporation that wanted to lock them in a jail cell. At least if he was going to get sent to the slammer, he’d have Robotnik by his side. Did alien prisons allow conjugal visits? 

Within minutes, they had passed through the security gate and entered the compound. An alien wearing a blue uniform with a gun belt inspected them without leaving the security booth, then waved them in. The truck navigated to a warehouse on the north end, pulling up right in front of an open garage door. Alien workers came out of the wide loading bay and opened the gate on the back of the truck. 

Moment of truth. 

Thick-muscled, reptilian arms grabbed the sides of Stone’s crate and hauled him out of the truck with no apparent effort on the worker’s part. Stone held his breath and thought mushroom - he was just an ordinary box of farm fresh produce, nothing interesting here. Would he be seen? He watched through slitted eyes, but from his angle, all he could see was the blacktop as he was carried a short distance.

It was over in seconds. The worker set him down on a pallet and returned to the truck. Another alien put down Robotnik’s box next to Stone, and the crew made short work of unloading the cargo. There were eight boxes to a pallet, stacked two deep, and the offload from one truck made almost four full pallets. 

The sound of alien chatter filled the evening air as they waited for the rest of the delivery trucks to arrive, and the complex as a whole buzzed with activity. Stone had a view to the south, and through the gap between slats, he watched as a plane touched down on the tarmac, a perfectly executed vertical landing. It was one of the aeriel harvesters, and the blade on the end of its front scoop looked deadly, though it was covered with mushroom slime after a day’s work. Marveling at the technological feat involved in using such heavy equipment for the delicate work of mushroom harvesting, Stone wondered if they could adapt such a design for military purposes. The DoD would love to get its hands on those schematics. 

They sat out on the ground in front of the warehouse until a row of pallets were filled, then a forklift took them inside and began stacking the pallets against one wall. The process lasted ages, and Stone was starting to seriously consider sawing his own leg off. Muscles were cramping that had never cramped before, and the smell of mushrooms was making him nauseous. 

Finally, there was a lull in the activity. He could still hear workers outside, but the trucks had stopped coming in, and hopefully there would be a break before the next phase of product shipping began. How long did mushrooms store? That would probably determine whether they were loaded up and sent out that very night, or if the crew would begin preparations in the morning. Stone had no idea, but it was better to assume time was short, as he  _ really _ didn’t want to end up on a cargo transport spaceship headed for some other planet. 

Time to roll out.

Only, there was one little problem.

Robotnik’s voice grumbled from the box next to him. “Stone.” 

“Yes, sir?” 

“Of all the idiotic situations you have gotten me into, this is the worst.” 

Stone bit back a sharp reply. He was doing his best here. 

They were stuck. Stone couldn’t see above himself, but he had kept count while the workers were loading. He was at the very bottom of a stack of three pallets, meaning the weight of five boxes was pressing down, locking the lid in place. There was no getting out through the top, but at least he could still see out. It could be worse - he could have been stuck in the middle of a group of pallets, blocked on every side. 

Maybe that was the key. If he could break the slats off the box, then he could easily crawl out. Though, he had no room to generate momentum for a kick. He pushed against the narrow wooden boards with his arms and legs, but they were strong, bending very little under the applied force. Punching the wood from a distance of about three inches, he felt like Uma Thurman in  _ Kill Bill _ , but his technique was met with less success. 

He tried a different strategy. Pushing with his legs, ignoring the pain it caused, he kicked the edge of the slat to try to pry it out from the nail. After a few good kicks, it worked. The slat fell to the ground, showing that it was only held together by a flimsy nail on either side. 

Stone clawed his way out onto the concrete floor, momentarily immobilized by the pain that came from finally unbending his cramped limbs. His arms shook when he stretched them out, and he struggled to his feet, internally cursing the flawed design of the human body. It should get desensitized to pain after experiencing it for so long, but no, every motion brought a fresh hell. 

“Ivo?” He found the box that held Robotnik and pried off the slats, helping him to unsteady feet. 

There was nobody else around in the cavernous warehouse. Stone and Robotnik went back outside, keeping to the shadows at the edge of the building. The pickups were lined up in a lot on the east side, so they went over there for what little cover it offered. The engines were still warm, though everything was turned off and the immediate area was completely deserted. 

In the center of the complex was a horseshoe-shaped building that opened to the south, and that’s where the action was happening. Stone and Robotnik crouched behind the trucks to watch. They were about 200 yards away, and visibility was decreasing rapidly as the sun went down.

It looked like the main terminal of an airport. Planes waited, dormant, around each arm of the horseshoe, while the bottom, which faced them, was brightly lit with manicured landscaping surrounding wide glass doors. There was a crowd gathered in the lobby just within the doors, and stragglers continued to arrive from more distant parts of the complex. A meeting of some sort was about to begin.

“That’s where we need to be,” Stone said. “Let’s go.”

Making a wide arc, they slunk across the open space between the warehouse and the main terminal. Every alien’s attention was focused inward, so they ran up to the edge of the building and stuck close to the wall. Wide stone steps led up to the glass doors, which seemed to be the primary entrance. It was framed by flags bearing a variety of different crests, as well as numerous concrete planters that held everything from flowers to small trees. 

Stone crouched behind a planter perched on the top step, just off to the side of the doors. Keeping low, he peered inside. 

Hundreds of aliens thronged in the open lobby, where folding chairs designed to accommodate a variety of body shapes were set up in rows. Many workers were wearing the reflective vests of aircraft ground handlers, though others wore no-nonsense dark blue uniforms with military-esque stripes on the shoulders, just like the security officer who had failed to notice Stone and Robotnik sneaking in. What an amateur. 

One group in particular caught Stone’s attention; they looked out of place among the rest of the working people. There were a dozen or so aliens wearing expensive clothing, purple robes with silken lining, embroidered hats, and not a trace of motor oil or mushroom grime to be seen. Jewels sparkled underneath the folds of elegant fabric. There was one humanoid alien who seemed to be wearing diamond-studded shoes, until Stone realized they had actually bedazzled their hooves. It wasn’t a style choice he would have made, but he granted it was a memorable way to show off one’s wealth.

The rich aliens sat apart from the workers, Stone was unsurprised to observe. Who were they? Shareholders? Wealthy clients of the corporation?

Despite the vast variation in physiological forms, and apparently, socioeconomic status, everyone was looking toward the far side of the room at something Stone couldn’t see. There appeared to be nothing there, apart from the back wall of the lobby.

How dangerous would it be if they just walked right in? He saw some human-looking faces in the crowd, so at least their appearance wouldn’t give them away instantly. Too bad they didn’t have a spare uniform, or a fake ID badge to really sell it. 

Everyone seemed to be waiting for something. The atmosphere reminded Stone of the energetic chatter of the crowd before an interdepartmental meeting; people were either talking to their neighbors in their seats, or milling around the edges of the room, fidgeting with impatience. Good to know that even alien corporations wasted everyone’s time with superfluous bureaucracy.

At the back wall of the lobby, there was a disturbance, and Stone risked standing up right at the edge of the doors to get a better view. The air itself seemed to ripple as if with heat waves, and a hole opened up in reality, a round window into another place. For a moment, Stone could see a brightly lit city street enclosed on either side with towering skyscrapers, then a figure stepped into view. In a split second, where previously there had been only empty space, there arrived another alien into the lobby. The portal closed with a shimmer. 

They were a large, bipedal creature with a dark green, toad-like face. Bulbous eyes glared imperiously at the gathering in the room. The alien, though they couldn’t be more than five feet tall, seemed to tower over everyone else in the room with an aura of authority. It could have been due to the luxurious fur-trimmed red cloak, the row of gold buttons on the front of their doublet, or the honest-to-god sword that hung at their hip. It could have been the way the assembled staff fell silent the instant the alien raised up their palm.

A flash caught Stone’s eye, and his breath quickened. 

Set into the alien’s high-tech wrist communicator was an emerald that glowed with a mysterious green light. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~You are life in darkness~

The alien began talking, but their low, sonorous voice was difficult to hear through the glass doors. Robotnik pulled out the translator and set it against the glass. 

“To begin, I want to congratulate everyone… production goals. Sales have increased… our buyers are… but always remember that… will accept nothing less than perfection from all of you. That said, let’s… department specific… items on the agenda tonight…”

The translator picked up fragments of the speech, and already Stone was bored. It sounded like the introduction to every meeting he’d ever attended at the Pentagon, which, without fail, could have been sent as emails instead. The toad-like alien must be some sort of corporate exec, based on the amount of people pulled away from their duties for what sounded like a routine status update. From his position outside the doors, Stone could clearly see workers in the back rows whisper to each other, or play with their communicators instead of paying attention to the speaker. 

Moving on to a lecture about workplace safety, the lead alien droned on in their rumbling voice, which would have been pleasant to listen to if they were talking about anything other than acquired fungal skin rashes. 

There was nothing useful to be learned, from the meeting anyway. That wrist device, on the other hand… Stone couldn’t take his eyes off it. It wasn’t just a piece of jewelry, it had glowed with power when the alien had first arrived, appearing out of thin air like some kind of magic trick. Then, the light had faded as the energy of the transport dissipated. 

“We need that device, Stone,” Robotnik whispered. “And we need to get it fast, before they vanish again.” 

Hope fluttered in Stone’s chest, a dangerous feeling. They didn’t know what that wrist cuff could do, and the possibilities were endless. Stone wasn’t a physicist, but he’d read enough sci fi to have some ideas. Was it a local site-to-site transport, a positioning system for an orbital teleporter, an access point for an interdimensional superhighway? 

The portal had resembled those formed by Sonic’s rings, just like the one Stone and Robotnik had been pushed through before they crash landed on this planet. If the alien’s transporter device operated on the same principles, then home was closer than it had been in months. 

Stone’s head swirled with the memories of familiar places: his apartment, Robotnik’s lab, the little coffee shop he’d worked at during college, his favorite place to walk by the river. He longed for home so much that it hurt, and desperation lended him a newfound strength. With a gesture, he led Robotnik down the steps and out of sight of the glass doors. 

Standing back, he checked the side of the building for any strategic points of entry. There weren’t any drain pipes or fire escape ladders, but there on the second floor, was an open window. How to get in? It was too high to reach, and there were no convenient handholds or ledges to climb. 

“We’ll go in through that window,” Stone said in a low voice. “Run back to the warehouse and find something to help us up; I’ll stay here and keep a lookout. And hurry! This might be our only chance.” 

Within minutes, Robotnik had returned, carrying an armload of empty wooden crates. Stone checked on the gathering inside the lobby. Still in full swing, the meeting showed no signs of slowing down, and no one had noticed the two figures skulking around in the airfield. 

Robotnik stacked the boxes and clambered through the window.

“Their security is really shit,” Robotnik commented, as Stone dropped into the empty room behind him.

“That’s private contractors for you. Nothing like rampant capitalism to inspire people to do the minimum necessary amount of work.” 

Cubicles divided up the space in the room, which was lit only by the grayish light of desktop computer screens. There wasn’t much of interest, so they cracked the door to the hallway and peered out. Not a soul to be seen. 

Robotnik was about to duck into the hall, but Stone grabbed him by the arm and hauled him back. “Let’s think for a minute. How do we steal the device when the entire room has their eyes on it?”

“We wait for Toad to be distracted by the corporate brown-nosers after the meeting, snag the thing, then warp out before they can grab us.”

“There’s no guarantee anyone will stick around after.”

“In my experience, there’s always people who stick around after meetings. They want to ask follow up questions, or congratulate me on my newest design, but they don’t actually care about the work, they just want to worm their way into my circle of acquaintances so I’ll give them a job offer or something. They call it “networking,” but in reality it’s just a sickening display of servile bootlicking.” 

As usual with the doctor’s more outrageous comments, Stone didn’t know whether to laugh or tell him off for being unnecessarily rude. Though, in practice, he rarely went with the latter option. He settled for a neutral expression. 

“I don’t think we can risk waiting,” Stone said. “We have to move now, because with that teleporter, the alien can vanish in a split-second.” 

“So, what are you suggesting? Blitz attack? In front of a hundred aliens who already know there’s a security breach on the planet?”

“They don’t know we’re in the building. And, you know, we’re stealing a teleporter, so once we grab it we can just teleport away.”

Robotnik crossed his arms over his chest. “We don’t know how to use it yet.” 

“Just press buttons ‘til it works!” 

With a frown like Stone had just insulted his mother, Robotnik retorted, “Is that how you learned to operate a drone? Explains a lot, honestly. Remind me never to let you near my tech again.” 

Sighing, Stone pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed for patience. “Let’s just get down there so we can see what’s going on.”

They crossed the hallway and found a stairwell, listening closely for voices before descending. Once on the ground floor, they started in the direction of the lobby, following the long curve of the U-shaped building until they were near enough to hear what was going on. It was not a very strategic position; the hall was lit with white fluorescent lights, and there was no way to see into the lobby without revealing themselves. 

Stone put his ear up to a door to check that it was empty before going in. If only they had schematics of the building, maybe they could get into the ventilation system; if only they could find a spare uniform, they could blend in long enough to pickpocket the device; if only there was more time to plan; if only… 

“Okay, here it is. I’ll sneak back outside and burst in through the front doors to distract everyone while you grab the transporter,” Stone said, punching his open palm for emphasis. 

Robotnik shook his head. “We’re not doing that. With your leg, you’ll be captured in a minute. What we need to do is find a cleaning supply closet so I can mix chemicals to create a smoke screen, then we move in while everyone evacuates.” 

“How are we supposed to see through the smoke screen?”

Frowning, Robotnik didn’t answer. 

“We could just run in and start firing this little stun gun,” Stone said, growing exasperated.

“Brilliant. We’ll be able to slow down one of them before the other ninety-nine rip us to shreds.”

With their attention focused on the growing argument, they failed to hear the footsteps until it was too late. 

The door swung open. Silhouetted in the doorframe was the imposing figure of one of the mantis-aliens, who exclaimed in an excited series of clicks when they saw who they had caught sneaking around.

Translator chirping to life in Robotnik’s coat pocket, the alien’s words were repeated. “I thought I heard something in here! You fools have walked right into the headquarters of this planet’s operations. You won’t escape this time!”

The alien turned to look back down the hallway and called for help, and in that split-second, Stone fired the blaster and tackled the alien. It was luck more than anything that got Stone out that door; the alien’s insectoid legs skidded on the slick vinyl floor tiles, and they crashed to their side. Stone scrambled over their writhing form with Robotnik close on his heels. 

“Grab the transporter!” Stone shouted, right before the alien snagged his leg with its scythe-like forearms. He stumbled and used the momentum to roll onto his back. With a swift kick that sent a lance of pain up his leg, he broke the alien’s grip and scrambled back to his feet. 

Haring around the curve of the hallway, they entered the crowded lobby. Heads turned their way, but no one had yet realized what was happening. Insect legs tapped out a sharp rhythm as the mantis gave chase - did they have enough of a head start?

“Now, now!” Stone was shouting, and the alien that pursued them was shouting, and other members of the staff began to exclaim in confusion, and within moments the previously-lethargic meeting became a tumult of activity as everyone began to jump from their seats but no one knew what to do. 

The toad-boss was at the front of the room, and the pouch on their throat swelled, a pale green warning of danger, and Robotnik ran into them without slowing down. Just steps behind, Stone grabbed their other arm and slammed his hand down on the emerald, which began to shine. 

He struggled to remove the wrist cuff while behind them, a portal opened.

Screeching with fury, the mantis security officer stretched out their arms. 

Robotnik latched onto the front of Stone’s shirt and hauled them both through the portal mere seconds before it closed. The last they heard from the chaotic scene was the frenzied howling of the mantis, thwarted yet again. 

Trying to regain his footing while holding onto a hostile alien, Stone took quick stock of their situation. They were in a forest, a proper forest this time, with towering trees that dripped with green foliage and gnarled, moss-covered roots and insects buzzing in the tropical air. It smelled like a completely different planet, but Stone didn’t have time to take it all in. 

“What the blazes is going on here!?” A voice boomed in an alien language, which the translator picked up. 

“You were supposed to grab the transporter, not the alien!” Robotnik yelled at Stone. 

“I didn’t mean to, the cuff is - gah!” Toad twisted Stone’s arm, and he lost his balance trying to get away while still keeping a handhold on the alien’s sleeve. For such a squat creature, they were incredibly strong. 

“I demand that you unhand me! Do you know who you’re dealing with? I am Mr. [untranslatable], the fourth-circuit regional manager of Agri-”

“Nobody cares about your street cred, Kermit,” Robotnik snarled. “Give us your transporter and maybe we’ll drop you off on a planet with a breathable atmosphere.” 

Toad’s throat pouch swelled and contracted, producing a bone-rattling croak which sent a multitude of birds exploding into wing from their hiding places under the leaves. At the same time, the alien reached for the sword on their - his? - belt. Apparently, it wasn’t just for decoration. Stone smacked his hand away. 

“Grab the thing, dump the frog,” Robotnik ordered, and Stone tried to obey, he really did. 

While he was struggling with the buckle on the wrist cuff, Toad broke free of his grip, and in the ensuing altercation, Stone hit the emerald again and another portal flared to life. Still croaking in a frequency low enough to vibrate jello into liquid, Toad fought against Stone and Robotnik, causing all three of them to pitch forward through the portal.

Stone landed on top of Toad, who boxed him around the shoulders trying to shove him off. He rolled away and jumped up, keeping a firm grip on Toad’s elbow. This time, they were standing on a rocky plain under a dark sky, while in the distance, a volcano spewed lava from its cone. Even from so far away, the sound of the eruption was terrible, like the roar of a jet engine. Fire streaked the sky. 

“Get me out of here!” Toad wailed. Hitting the transport button again, he reopened the portal and dove through with Stone and Robotnik still attached to his arms. 

When they landed, Robotnik sunk to his knees and vomited bile onto a flagstone flooring. Stone wasn’t faring much better; his stomach clenched, and he leaned on Toad for support. 

“What seems to be the problem, kindly gentlefolk?” Toad said, though his tone sounded anything but sympathetic. “Surely, you must have travelled via quantum entanglement before? Does a number on the old juices, I’m afraid, but one does get used to it in time.” 

There was an ominous rumble in the floor, and dust showered down from stone walls. Where were they now? It was a large, dark room with no windows, and it was damp like the dungeon of an old castle. 

“Give us the device or else - hrrng...” Stone broke off before he could finish the threat as a wave of nausea rose up in him. Perhaps it was just as well; the threat would have been empty anyway. 

“I say, this isn’t a particularly inviting locale, is it? Why don’t we go somewhere more pleasant, and we can discuss your demands.” 

Robotnik whimpered, clutching the hem of the alien’s cloak. “No, please-” But Toad had already pressed the emerald yet again and dragged them through, this time straight into a cozy living room, like something out of  _ Better Homes and Gardens _ , if said magazine was written by swamp-dwelling amphibians. Wooden benches stood around the edges of a pond set into the middle of the room, presumably so guests could soak their feet while they watched TV. A mosquito landed on Stone’s neck and he slapped at it in irritation. He was done with this game. 

It appeared Robotnik was out for the count. He lay curled in a ball on his side, clutching his stomach. Even Toad looked the worse for wear; his face was turning a jaundiced shade of yellow-green. 

“Look. We won’t hurt you if you give us the transporter,” Stone said wearily.

Toad held up a finger and exhaled heavily a few times. When he had regained some measure of composure, he croaked, “Is that why you broke into AgriCorp property? You see, earlier this week, I received intelligence of trespassers attempting to steal produce containing our patented genomic information, but I thought, why would they risk their necks to steal something they could simply purchase? I knew there was more to the story. I was just beginning to discuss security measures when you two so rudely interrupted my staff meeting.” 

“You mean you called an entire interdepartmental meeting just because we ate some of your mushrooms?” Robotnik grumbled from his position on the dirt floor of the alien’s semi-aquatic living room. “Your security team sucks, by the way. I could sell you a robot that could do the job of ten organic security officers.”

Toad’s throat pouch swelled in indignation, but Stone cut him off before the argument devolved. 

“All we want is to get home. Give us the transporter.”

“You have nothing to bargain with! Tell me, do you even know how to use this technology? It’s more advanced than most cultures-” 

Feeling nauseous, exhausted, and homesick, Stone had reached his absolute limit. He punched the alien in the gut, and while he doubled over, gasping for air, he yanked the cuff off his wrist, grabbed Robotnik’s hand, and pressed the emerald. 

“No!” Toad bellowed, lunging towards Stone just as he stepped through the portal. 

Wind almost swept him off his feet where he landed on the springy surface of a mushroom cap, and he lost his grip on Robotnik. They were back on AgriCorp’s mushroom farm, and Stone intended this to be the last alien planet he ever visited. Toad struck out with leathery green fists, but Robotnik jumped in front of the blow. Reeling back, Toad stumbled to correct his footing on the treacherous gaps in the mushroom canopy. 

The three of them stood facing each other, at an impasse. Stone held the transporter, but he was out of arm’s reach of Robotnik. Any movement they made towards each other could easily be countered by Toad, and then they would be planet-hopping all over again. 

“This ends now!” Stone shouted to be heard over the rushing wind. “Let us go in peace!” 

“Thief! Brigand! You shall never leave with that emerald!” 

Rain threatened to break from the steel gray skies at any moment, but Stone didn’t intend to wait around. They might not be able to defeat the powerful toad-like alien in hand to hand combat, but they had one definite advantage. Having lived wild on the mushroom planet for months, they knew how to traverse the uneven canopy. They knew the shapes and textures of the mushrooms. The springiness of the caps, which once had slowed them like a sand trap, gave them boosts of speed now that they knew how to push off at the exact right moment. Jumping over gaps between adjacent mushrooms was second nature, even when the wind set the entire forest shaking. 

Stone locked eyes with Robotnik and nodded his head toward a spot behind the alien. Toad’s bulbous eyes narrowed.

“Ready?” Stone asked.

Robotnik grinned. 

As one, they charged toward Toad as if they were going to attack, but at the last moment dodged around and ran flat out across the canopy, putting as much distance between themselves and the alien as possible. With a roar of frustration, Toad whipped around and gave chase.

But Stone had already activated the portal. The interdimensional rift flickered into life, showing a cityscape of towering buildings visible in the distance. Hot-footing it right on through, Stone once again experienced the sickening feeling of being stretched and compressed all at once, and then he landed on hands and knees on the soft carpet of his own home. 

The last thing he heard was a thunderous croak that rumbled like an earthquake, before the portal closed on the mushroom planet forever. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~You were there before the flowers, and you will be there at the end of all things~

Stone and Robotnik lay on the ground, breathing shakily, hardly able to believe that they had escaped. Any moment, Stone expected another portal to open, for an army of aliens to march through and apprehend them, but after minutes passed and nothing happened, he began to finally relax. 

They were home. When he had pressed the button, he had thought as hard as he could about Earth, picturing the planet with its cerulean waterways and verdant forests, the cities of stone where so much life dwelled, the friends and family that he had missed so terribly it felt like a physical piece had been ripped from his chest, and the emerald had responded, a beacon illuminating the path home. 

Stone’s living room was exactly as he had left it. It was a small, one-bedroom apartment, with the kitchen and living room together in one open space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street. His black leather sofa backed onto the window, where sunlight filtered through the drawn curtains. A soft white carpet covered the middle of the room, looking tastefully modern over the light wood flooring. Only Stone knew that there was a wine stain on the underside of the carpet; back when he’d first moved in, his mother had scolded him for buying a white carpet of all things, saying it wouldn’t last a month before it was dirty. She had been right of course, though Stone would never tell her that. 

Now, he pulled back the corner to make sure it was still there. He saw the pinkish smudge where a friend had spilled a glass of rosé years ago, and was hit with a wave of relief so strong he almost wept. They were really back! 

He didn’t know what he wanted to do first. He could eat, he could shower, he could sleep in his own bed. Dragging himself onto the couch, he leaned back and closed his eyes, basking in the familiar comfort. His leg ached, so he stretched it out on the ottoman. Robotnik settled in next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and it felt overwhelmingly  _ normal, _ like they had just gotten home after a long day of work. 

“I’ve never been to your apartment before,” Robotnik said, looking around the room. “It suits you.” 

“I love this place.” He had never loved it more than at that very moment, in fact, even though it was a long commute into DC for work every day. After the ordeal he had just gone through, he would never complain again. 

Robotnik stood up. “I’m going to use your shower. And um… can I borrow some clothes? These should be burned.” He indicated his tattered flight suit and Stone’s jacket, which was a damp biohazard by that point. 

While Robotnik went to clean up, Stone went into his bedroom, changed clothes, and grabbed a set of garments he thought would fit the taller man. They could stop by Robotnik’s place next before figuring out what to do, but clean clothes were such a simple comfort. Stone’s jeans felt unbelievably comfortable compared to his crusty, mud-stained slacks, and he held the softness of his tan knit sweater against his cheek before putting it on. Finally, he buckled the transporter back into place around his wrist and thought he might never take it off again. 

He knocked on the bathroom door before setting a change of clothes on the counter for Robotnik. 

Back in the living room, Stone went through his fridge and threw out all the fruits and vegetables that had sat rotting for months. It wasn’t a pleasant smell, and he wasn’t sure if there was anything left they could safely eat. His pantry was well stocked with non-perishables, however, and he had microwaved soup ready by the time Robotnik came back out, wearing Stone’s black sweats and gray shirt. He smelled like Stone’s soap too. Irresistible. Stone took him by the hand and kissed him. 

They ate slowly. After days of gnawing hunger, Stone worried they would get sick if they ate too much, but soup seemed like a safe choice. It tasted heavenly. Stone realized how much of his life he had taken for granted, even the simplest things like a shower and a bowl of canned soup. And toothpaste. God, he needed to brush his teeth. 

Robotnik laid down on the couch and Stone went to take a shower. He examined his electric razor, turning it over in his hands as if he’d never seen it before. What a luxury it was, a razor with shaving cream and running water. Then with a jolt, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. 

Hollow eyes stared out at him, and his brown skin had darkened by several shades after so long in the harsh sunlight. His face was thin and his beard was uneven after weeks of shaving with a camping knife. The man in the mirror wasn’t the man Stone used to know; the look in his eyes was guarded and weary. He looked like a soldier who’d just returned from active combat. 

Sighing, he shaved his beard before stepping into the shower, and the hot water did wonders for his knotted muscles. If only the tension in his mind were so easy to relieve. The trauma of his experience hadn’t hit him yet, but he knew it would. He hoped he had his therapist’s number written down somewhere. 

He burned through half a bar of soap washing off layers of grime, and finally he was clean after so long. The steam warmed him to his core. Had he ever felt anything more relaxing? After a few minutes, he was half asleep on his feet, which is why he nearly jumped out of his skin when Robotnik burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

“Stone!” he hissed frantically. “The FBI is at the door!” 

“What? What are you talking about?” 

“The FBI! They know we’re here!” 

“What do they want?” Stone could see Robotnik through the shower curtain, shifting from foot to foot in agitation. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel, feeling his own fight-or-flight instincts start to kick in. Had the FBI been surveilling Stone’s apartment? 

“We’re wanted on criminal charges, Stone, we have to go now!” 

Stone pulled on his clothes in rapid speed, and with the water off, he could hear pounding on the front door of his apartment. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and a voice sounded throughout the apartment. 

“Aban Stone and Ivo Robotnik! This is the FBI; surrender yourselves immediately!” 

“Shit!” Stone’s mind was reeling, he’d thought they were safe and now he struggled to switch gears. “I don’t have my shoes!” 

“Forget it, we gotta go!” Robotnik whispered urgently.

Slapping the transporter on his wrist, Stone grabbed hold of Robotnik and hit the button to open a portal to somewhere else on Earth. They jumped through, and the pressure of being squeezed through an interdimensional hole was becoming almost familiar. The portal closed just as the lead FBI goon kicked down the bathroom door.

Just how many near misses could Stone survive? He fell over onto soft green grass and dug his fingers into the Earth, shaking with all the rage and frustration he had felt for the past two months. 

“We were so close!” he shouted, pounding his fist into the ground. “We were finally home! And now - now - damn it!” There was a bitter taste in his mouth and he couldn’t form any more coherent words. Was this a cruel joke? It had to be, he had escaped from a distant planet, he’d made it back to his own home, his own living room, he deserved a  _ rest,  _ he couldn’t keep running any more. 

Robotnik sat next to him and rubbed his shoulders, and Stone tried to pull himself together. Their trial wasn’t over. There was another fight to win. 

He buried his face in the crook of Robotnik’s neck, not knowing whether he wanted to scream or collapse or teleport directly into Vice Chairman Walters’ office and demand to know what the hell was going on. As Robotnik stroked his hair, calming his racing heartbeat, Stone couldn’t pretend that this was a total surprise. He had hoped so strongly that their homecoming would be easy that he’d failed to plan for the more realistic scenario. 

“What do they want with us?” Robotnik asked, his voice low and unsettled. “We were assigned by the government to track down the alien and we did everything they asked. What possible reason do they have to arrest us?” 

Stone exhaled deeply and stood up, taking in his surroundings. They were on a green grass verge surrounding a baseball diamond - had he meant to come here? Or had his subconscious simply taken him back to the scene of the crime? The baseball diamond in Green Hills was the place where this nonsense had all began. They had returned to where they started. 

Robotnik too had risen to his feet and looked around in distaste. “Explain,” he frowned at Stone.

“We did a lot of damage before we left, not just in San Francisco, but well… you know how people get touchy when their historical monuments get shot up.”

“That was that backwoods moron Wachowski’s fault,” Robotnik growled. “Him and his adopted alien.” 

Stone shook his head helplessly. “To be fair, we used a lot more force than was strictly necessary…”

“Don’t be fair to them! They’re the ones who got us into this mess in the first place.”

“True, but…” Stone’s heart felt heavy. To see the light at the end of the tunnel and then have it snatched away… it was almost too much to bear.

“The government invested a lot of money in your drone tech, a lot of which was destroyed during the fight. If I know the DoD - and I do, I’ve worked for them my entire adult life - they’ll find a convenient scapegoat to blame their troubles on and sweep it all under the rug. Two months ago, they said Wachowski was a terrorist, but you saw how the whole town came together to fight us. I hate to say it, but Wachowski’s a good guy. Then we disappeared right off the face of the planet, making it real easy for the DoD to put the blame on us instead. It’s easier to explain that we went rogue, rather than tell the public that aliens exist.” 

“Those ungrateful bastards.” Robotnik bared his teeth. “I did everything their pathetic little hearts desired, designed drones to their specifications to topple regimes, and kept their secrets after they’d washed their hands of the blood. And now we’re - what, terrorists? Ghosts?” 

Stone didn’t have an answer for that. “All I know is DC is the last place we want to be right now.” His heart yearned for his city, and he could see the same reflected in Robotnik’s cheerless expression. He couldn’t stand to see Robotnik so forlorn. “We’ll figure something out, Ivo,” he said softly, stepping closer and taking his hand. 

“Of course we will. I have you with me.” Robotnik wrapped him in his arms. “I’m so sorry, Aban. You’ve done your best for me all this time and I wish I could give you more than this.” He touched Stone’s cheek. “You brought us home.” 

They were back on Earth, and that counted for something, at least. Green Hills was a beautiful place, and the air smelled sweet and loamy with the coming of autumn. The trees were just beginning to turn orange, and in the distance past the edges of town, the mountains were blue shadows on the horizon. 

He tried to look on the bright side. For two fugitives, they were pretty well equipped. Stone had his wallet and phone, though the phone was dead and he couldn’t use his credit cards without leaving a trail for the FBI. Robotnik had grabbed the quill, the blaster, and the translator before running into the bathroom, but what use those would serve on Earth, Stone wasn’t sure yet. He supposed it was better to keep a hold of those items, rather than let them fall into the hands of the FBI. 

Their greatest asset was the transporter. With it, they could go anywhere on Earth. They could escape in seconds if necessary, but Stone dearly hoped they could stop running for a while. Somehow, they could find a place to lay low and sort out these unfounded criminal charges, and then maybe their lives could go back to normal. Maybe he could find a pair of shoes.

He strapped the leather cuff on his wrist. The emerald, which was heavier than it looked, radiated an internal warmth, and there was a tiny spark inside it that flickered with a faint energy. 

Robotnik slipped his hand into Stone’s, bringing it up to kiss his knuckles before studying the emerald. 

“What do you think it is?” Stone asked.

“I have no idea. But whatever power this thing holds, it’s magnitudes beyond the quill. Just imagine the possibilities, the machines I could build using this as a power source. Once we get back on our feet, I’m going to change the world.” 

He stood with a determined set to his shoulders, and Stone had absolutely no doubt that he could do exactly what he promised. But there in the rolling foothills of Montana’s mountain ranges, looking into the brown eyes of his doctor, drone tech was the last thing on Stone’s mind.

“Remember when we were hiding out in that ravine, right after the corporation first came after us?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I think there was something you wanted to tell me then.” Stone’s lip quirked in a cheeky smile. 

Robotnik glowered. “I think you’re imagining things…”

“No, it was going to be really touching, I’m sure of it. I can shed a little tear, if that helps.” 

“You are incorrigible,” Robotnik said, lifting up Stone’s chin to kiss him. “Hmm. I like you more than most people.” 

“You can do better than that.” Wrapping his arms around Robotnik’s waist, he pulled his body flush against his own.

“Are you really going to make me say it?”

Stone nodded. 

“I love you. Aban, you are my whole world.” He kissed Stone again, a searing reminder of their existence, that they were still alive and they still had each other. In his kiss was all that they had suffered, and in his arms was the strength to continue on. 

“I love you, Ivo.”

Maybe they couldn’t go back to DC yet, but somehow, it felt right to be back in Green Hills. They had made plenty of mistakes in their mission. When they realized the alien was just a kid, they should have called off the assault right away. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty however, and they hadn’t truly known Sonic was a benevolent alien until the end, when he defended himself and the Wachowskis against Robotnik’s aircraft. Admittedly… going after Sonic hadn’t made Stone and Robotnik look good, even if they were operating under orders. 

Perhaps now they had a chance to fix what they’d done wrong. Stone assumed that the Wachowskis were still taking care of the little alien, which technically made them outlaws as well. What a darkly ironic turn of events, Stone thought, that he and Robotnik would end up in the same position they’d put the Wachowskis in. It was nothing more than they deserved, really. 

Stone looked towards the center of town, contemplating fate. Yes, he regretted hounding Sonic, who turned out to be innocent, despite the powerful electromagnetic pulse he’d produced that had fried the Pacific Northwest. But the punishment had far exceeded the crime and they had served a sentence above and beyond what they owed. 

It was Wachowski who had sent them to the mushroom planet to languish and starve. Had he known the suffering he would force them to endure? Stone doubted it. Tom Wachowski was a good man; he’d proven that by taking the little alien fugitive into his care.

The answer came to Stone then, elegant in its simplicity. Stone and Robotnik had to hide out somewhere until the heat cooled off. Why not form an alliance with their old enemies?

“Where do we go from here?” Robotnik asked. 

“I think I know someone in Green Hills who owes us a debt. It’s about time we cash in, wouldn’t you say?” 

“I must be rubbing off on you,” Robotnik said appreciatively. “You’re almost as devious as I am.” 

Lacing their fingers together, Stone led the way into town. He had a feeling that their bad luck was finally coming to an end, but maybe it was just hard to feel hopeless in a place like Green Hills.

Montana really was beautiful in the gathering autumn. Forests of red and gold covered the land all the way up to the foot of the mountains, which were capped with snow at the highest peaks. He was glad that they were here, surrounded by green, living nature in a valley protected by magnificent mountains. He was glad he was here with Robotnik, whose hand was warm and comforting in his own.

Together, they walked into Green Hills, the place which had at one time almost destroyed them, but now promised to serve as the birthplace of the rest of their lives. And there wasn’t a mushroom in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Stone picked up the blaster and the knife after the fight with the monster, Robotnik had ripped a page out of his field journal and folded it carefully into his pocket. It was silly, sentimental... just something he'd written about mushrooms, really. Maybe one day he would show it to Stone.
> 
> As if out of thin air, you emerged from the silted soil of my life  
> Like an apparition hovering over the remains of what once was  
> I didn’t ask for you  
> But I didn’t know how much I needed you  
> Without you, the world would be covered by layers of decay, death with no hope of renewal  
> Without you, there would be no medicine  
> I fear that you will vanish with the morning mist as mysteriously as you appeared  
> Won’t you stay and breathe in the moonlit air?  
> You are life in darkness  
> You were there before the flowers, and you will be there at the end of all things


End file.
